My Angel of Darkness
by Shiv3r
Summary: Max is an average student at her highschool. Until the new mystery guy shows up. And with him brings adventure, drama, fights, horror, and buried secrets. It'll be a miracle if anyone could stay alive until the end of the year. FAX! All HUMAN!
1. The Dream

**A/N: Hey guys! First fanfic on this site. So review, tell me what you think. Anything is welcome. Even flames. At least 10 reviews to continue.**

***Shiver***

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MPOV

_I was running. Running through a dark forest, the moon my only light. I was going faster than I've ever run before- faster than any _human_ has run before. It was exhilarating. Wind, blowing through my waist-long, thick brown hair, whipping against my face and the exposed skin left uncovered by the dress I was wearing- Wait. _Dress?_ It was a sleeveless, white sundress that formed itself around my curves. But I was barefoot, my raw feet pounding against the damp, earthy floor._

_Suddenly, there was a break in the forest. A clearing lay before me, illuminated by the full moon. I slowed to a stop and wandered to the middle of it. Slowly, I rotated, soaking in the meadow. Wildflowers of purples and blues and yellows poked their way out of the ground all around me. Towering trees loomed around me, creating an almost perfect circle and enclosing the meadow. Tall prairie grasses sprouted up everywhere, reaching to my bare knees._

_A dark light blotted out the moon for a moment, panic bubbling inside me. I whirled around, searching for light, my skirt twirling and my hair whipping. Then, as soon as the light was put out, it was back. But with the comforting light came the ominous feeling of being watched. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and a chill ran down my spine._

_I wasn't alone._

_I slowly turned to confront my invader. And standing mere feet away from me was an angel of darkness. It was a boy, about four inches taller than myself. Shaggy black hair blanketed and covered most of my face. All I could see was midnight, soulful eyes. He was dressed in all black, too. Black V-neck T-shirt, black jeans that had several tears in them, and black…._wings._ Fifteen-foot-long wings protruded from behind his back and stretched out on either side of him, the feathers ruffling a bit in the slight breeze. They were dark as midnight and looked incredibly soft. I had the urge to reach over and stroke them. _

_The boy caught me eyeing him, but he didn't move. Didn't do anything, for that matter. I opened my mouth tentatively to speak, and he was suddenly there. His face was only an inch from mine. The breath left my lungs and I quickly shut my mouth. We stood there like that, staring into each others' eyes for what seemed like an eternity. He was the first to speak._

_"I've waited for this moment for a very long time." His voice was deep and rich. If velvet had a sound, this is what it would sound like. _

_All I could do was stutter out a, "Wha-What?" as my heart beat in over-time._

_His lips quirked up slightly before turning back down into that poker face of his. "You have kept me waiting a long time, Maximum. It is rude to keep one waiting. Especially an impatient man like myself."_

He knew my name? How did he know my name? _"I don't know what you mean." I managed to get a full sentence out this time, but it was barely a whisper._

_"You will. In time. But now it is time to go. We shall meet again, my Angel."_

_"Wha-"_

_He cut me off. "Until then." He leaned down and pressed his soft lips to my forehead…._

"Max!" A pounding sound entered my already throbbing head as I slowly roused from my amazing dream.

_Who was that guy? How did he know my name? And what did he mean 'We shall meet again,'?_

"Maximum Ride, get your ass up and out of bed before I knock you into next week!"

"I'd like to see you try," I screamed back.

My door opened, revealing blinding light from the hallway and a very pissed-off Ella. I groaned.

"Ella, go _away!_" I rolled onto my stomach, covering my head with my pillow.

Minutes of silence ticked by and, thinking she left, I let my guard down and relaxed into my mattress.

Mistake number one.

I was suddenly being flipped off my bed and roughly onto the floor, hitting my head on my night-stand and getting tangled in the blankets along the way. I landed in a heap next to my bed, Ella looming over me.

"You're not the only one who can kick ass in this house," she said. She stepped around me and walked out the door. "Get ready for school- you're my ride," she called over her shoulder before shutting the door behind her.

Groaning, I struggled into a sitting position and dragged myself to my feet.

It was going to be a long day.

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**Sorry for the shortness guys! If you want me to continue, then I'll make it longer.**

**Fang: She lies. Don't listen to her!**

**Me: *rubs temples* Do you ever shut up?!**

**Fang: When I'm being held captive, no.**

**Me: Why?! Whatever happened to being the nice, silent Fangie that I love?**

**Fang: He got kidnapped and, in an attempt to be released, started talking non-stop.**

**Me: You have to admit, I'm a lot nicer than some of the other people who've kidnapped you.**

**Fang: True...At least you give me food and don't keep me locked up.**

**Me: I trust you.**

**Fang: No, you trust your ability to track me down again and tow me back to your house.**

**Me: ....**

**Fang: What?**

**Me: ....**

**Fang: Oh, so now you're not talking?**

**Me: ....**

**Fang: Fine. Be that way.**

**Me: .... (Review please?)**

***Shiver***


	2. Cheerleaders and Suspensions

A/N Thanks so much for wanting me to continue you guys! You all rock! I loved your reviews, so please keep them coming.

Shout out to my first reviewer of this story: flocklover19 You freaking rock!

Questions: nm-maximumride4eva- Did Fang have the same dream? No, Fang did not have the same dream. And you'll find out why later

21reeree21- Answer to all of your questions (Too much for me to type xD) You'll find out in the next several or some chapters.

dogLOVER411- is ***Shiver*** your trademark? Uh…yeah. Pretty much. And now that means I'll now be calling you shudder xD

Any questions please feel free to ask.

Disclaimer (Forgot to put this in last time): I'm a girl, and am obviously therefore not J.P.

MPOV

I parked my car in the school parking lot and hopped out, Ella following close behind as I walked to the building. Lynn High was home of the Angels. Honestly, I wonder every day how an angel could be a mascot and appear in a tacky costume at football and basketball games. But my school has imagination that runs wild. She finally caught up to me as I stopped to yank open the heavy oak doors.

"Max," she said, breathless. "You have to stop walking so fast."

"I'm not walking too fast. You're walking too slow."

She rolled her eyes but said nothing.

"Max!" I looked through the crowd of people to see J.J calling my name from across the hall. She reached me in a couple seconds and gave me a tiny squeeze before going on. "Did you hear the news?"

"No. What's the latest gossip Lissa's come up with this time?" Lissa was the 'It' girl of the school. Prom Queen, head cheerleader, rich, popular, and the biggest slut you'll ever meet. Not to mention a total bitch to everyone who does so much as glance at her.

J.J shook her head. "Not gossip. Real news this time!"

My eyes widened. "You're kidding. Everything that happens here is as fake as Lissa's chest."

Behind me, Ella smothered a snicker, while J.J had no problem displaying hers openly. "I know," J.J agreed. "I didn't believe it at first either. But I saw for myself. And trust me, it's definitely worth checking out."

"Well it better be worth a suspension, cause that's what I'm going to get if I don't get to Mr. X's class before the bell rings." Mr. X may be the coolest teacher in the school, but he doesn't accept tardiness at all. So after being late twenty times this school year, it's only natural that he'd give me a suspension the next time I was late. Detentions I can deal with. Suspensions? Not so much.

J.J looked at me sympathetically. "Right. I forgot X had it out for you."

I started heading towards my locker. "Yes. Sadly, your 'big news' will have to wait until lunch."

J.J looked ready to burst. "I can't wait that long!"

I stopped and turned, contemplating what to do. "Then…tell Ella. I'll see you guys later." I gave them both a quick hug and headed back down the hall towards my locker.

When I reached it, I suddenly realized what the 'big news' was. Standing at the locker across from mine was a guy I've never seen around school before. But I have seen him somewhere else- my dream. At least, it looked a bit like him from behind. If I could only see his face….

Someone bumped roughly into my shoulder. "Oops. Sorry, honey, didn't see you there," Lissa said in a sickly-sweet high-pitched, scratchy voice.

I almost groaned. I needed to get to class- it started in two minutes! "Lissa, listen, I'll play your little sick game later. I need to get to class." I tried maneuvering around her, but she blocked my way.

She put on an innocent façade. "Why, what's wrong, Maxie? You're not worried about being late to class are you? I'm sure Mr. X is used to your attendance record already."

How the freak did she know where my homeroom class was? "I can't deal with you right now, slut. So move before I have to force you to."

She leaned closer in to me, whispering. "Now, Maxie. Don't be so mad. After all, I control your status in this school. One mistake," she snapped her fingers, "and you'll be at the bottom of the food-chain."

Frustrated, I sighed. "Lissa," I said through gritted teeth. "I don't. Have. Time. For. This. Now leave."

She leaned back, gazing at me with half-lidded eyes. "You just be careful, Max. If you think your life is bad now, just you wait to see what I can do to you."

"Unlike you, I happen to love my life and don't need to sleep with the entire football team to make it better." Her mouth flopped open like a fish. "I'm leaving now." I shoved her out of the way just as the bell rang. I stopped abruptly.

Lissa smirked at me. "Have fun in suspension, Maxie." Then she was walking down the hall in the opposite direction.

I gave a soft cry of frustration before rushing to Mr. X's advanced history class.

I entered Mr. X's classroom with a pit in my stomach. Detention is bad enough to endure. Suspension is ten times worse.

"Maximum! Thank you for joining us. Excuse this time, Miss Ride?"

"Miss Ride? Am I really that much of a lady to you?"

He gave me a long look. "Reasons, Max."

I sighed. "Okay, if you must know- a bitchy cheerleader kept me blocked up in the hall to purposely make me late, therefore giving me suspension."

"Language, Max. And do you want to give me the name of this cheerleader?"

"No…." Lissa may deserve to be ratted out, but if I do it, I'd seem pathetic running to a teacher for help.

"Then take a seat."

I wandered to the back of the classroom and plopped down into the only empty seat. Kicking my feet up onto the desk, I leaned back into my chair, my hands behind my head. "You can proceed with your lecture, X."

Mr. X didn't react to my comment. Instead, he just stood up and started pacing around the room. "Throughout the year, you have given me many excuses: Bathroom, car broke down, sister started choking at breakfast, your locker refused to open, someone locked you in the bathroom, you got in a car accident, and your worst yet- you fell off your skateboard on the way to school, causing you to trip into on-coming traffic, and get hit by a car. So you had to go to the hospital, where you found out that you had a broken arm. You then came to my classroom thirty minutes late with a fake sling. And after all of that, I gave you one warning: Late one more time, and you'll be suspended.

"So, class," he stopped pacing and turned towards the rest of my classmates. "Should Max be suspended?"

Angel High was a very bland, boring place where if the littlest piece of drama happened, we'd be talking about it for the next two years. So, naturally, the whole class nodded vigorously and murmured agreement to Mr. X.

"There we have it, Max. Report here _on time_ tomorrow for your suspension." By now, he had made it behind my chair. He smacked me on the back with a ruler. "Feet off my desk. Now let's get back to class."

Suspension at Angel High isn't the same as most schools. Instead of steering clear of the school for an extended period of time, you have to stay in the class you go the suspension in- for the whole day. The same class- hour, after hour, after hour. Again and again and again. You come in and don't leave until the bell rings- not even at lunch.

I arrived at Mr. X's classroom on time for the first time that school year. He gestured to an empty chair over in the back corner of the room. I slung my bag over the back of it and slumped down low.

Students slowly began herding themselves into the classroom and into various different seats. Everyone sat somewhere new everyday. With Mr. X, the usual school rules, like chewing gum or seating in assigned seats, didn't apply. You did what you wanted for the most part. The only rule that he had a tough hold on was being to class on time.

Sadly, that was the one rule I never followed.

The bell rang and students quieted down as Mr. X started banging his ruler rapidly on his desk.

"Okay, everyone. Please ignore Max, there, in the corner. As you know, she is serving her suspension in the solitary confinement of that dark corner."

I rolled my eyes. "Please, X, I'm trying to write emotional poetry over here. Keep it down."

"Max, no talking."

"Can I make noises?"

"No. Just sit in your corner and do nothing."

"So you're saying that I can't write my poems?"

"No. You have to sit there, doing nothing."

"I'll write one about you."

"No."

"How about if I paint a picture of you?"

"No."

"Sing a song for you."

"I'm not sure I want my name in the song that will end the world once it leaves your mouth."

"My singing isn't _that_ bad."

He looked at me pointedly.

"Okay, so it's really bad."

"Max?"

"Yes?" I asked in a sing-song voice.

"Shut up."

I saluted him. "Yes sir."

Mr. X returned back to his class and the first lesson began.

The rest of the day, I tried to spice up each class with a new act. Sadly, though, Mr. X refused to let me speak after my first episode this morning. The last class of the day, however, turned out to be very interesting.

He was first to enter the classroom. He chose the seat closest to me. Mr. X announced he had to leave the room to make some copies and asked the new kid to watch the class while he was gone. As soon as he was out the door, new kid turned in his seat to face me.

"What are you doing here?"

I arched an eyebrow. "'Here' as in, on this earth 'here.' Or 'here' as in this dark little corner I've claimed my own?"

His dark eyes looked faintly amused. Those eyes…I remembered them from somewhere…

"As in that corner."

I shook off the feeling and shrugged. "Mr. X got tired of my tardy excuses and sentenced me to a suspension since detention didn't seem to be teaching me a lesson."

"And what's this lesson supposed to teach? How to be seen and not heard in secluded corner?"

I smiled slightly and shook my head. "No. It's supposed to scare you into never doing something bad again."

"And is it working?"

"A little torture never sways me from messing with this school. After all, I _am_ the only exciting thing here."

"Why is that?"

"Everyone else is too afraid to get in trouble. It's sad, really. I need some suspension buddies to keep me company in my lone corner."

"Tell you what- from now on, every time you get a suspension or detention, just say the word and I'll be right there with you."

It shocked me. The only friends I had at this school were J.J and Ella. And they certainly never got detention just to keep me from going insane with solitude. And then here's this guy who's only been at this school for two days and talked to me for barely three minutes, and he's already making an offer to be my partner in crime.

I was touched.

I opened my mouth to respond when Mr. X came into the room. He looked up from the copies he was holding. "Mr. Xavier, no talking with my delinquents. Back to work."

New kid turned back around. "Wait," I whispered. "What's your name?"

He half-turned. "Fang."

Students flooded into the classroom and I leaned back in my seat.

_Fang. Fang Xavier. _

Sorry for the boringish chapter, guys. But I had to do an introduction chapter someday, so I decided I might as well get it over with. Next chapter up soon!

*Shiver*


	3. Call me Angel

**Hey guys! I'm so happy you all like my story! Anyway, here are your questions:**

**1207xX: What's Mr. X's real name? Uh…I dunno. If any of you have an idea for his real name, please, let me know.**

**2. dogLOVER411: Are you changing Fang's personality since he's not all silent and what-not? No, I'm not. Actually, this chapter will sorta clear things up, but you'll find out the real reason why in the upcoming chapters.**

**: Is Fang Mr. X's song? No, Fang is not Mr. X's son. Mr. X has yet to get a full last name XD**

**4. : How do you pronounce Fang's last name? Ex-a-v-er. If that doesn't help you, please let me know.**

**Feel free to ask any questions!**

**Disclaimer: Still not J.P.**

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FPOV

_September 25, 2009_ (A/N Yes, I know I put 2009 and not 2010)

_I saw her today. She was just like I remembered. It's hard to believe she hasn't changed a bit- not even her smart-ass attitude that gets her into trouble so much. And it was such a relief, I almost jumped up and down and screamed like a little girl when I saw her in the back of Mr. X's classroom today. _

_Almost._

_But I kept my stoic, expressionless face on and just talked to her. The conversation came as easily as it used to. Though I don't believe she remembers me yet. In time, I suppose, it will all come back to her. For now, she's in the dark, though. And it is maddening for me. Maddening too know that only I know our past. Only I know the dark secrets that we both left behind to live in this life. If only she still had her memory, like I do. She'll get it back, though. I hope._

_Even if she doesn't, I'll still love her. And nothing will ever change that. Nothing. Even if our past comes back to haunt us, I'll love her to the day I die again._

_Speaking of the past catching up with us, I fear that is exactly what is going to happen. After all, they always come back. No matter how many times I die, they'll find me. It's always been like that, and it'll always be like that._

_But for now, I wait in the shadows with my love, ready to conquer anything they throw at us._

_I do not plan to die this time. We will thrive this time, and nothing will stop us._

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MPOV

Fang Xavier was all I could think about as I walked home after suspension. Ella took my car since mom was too worried that something would happen to her if she walked home. So I was forced to walk a mile back home.

Joy.

The cool September breeze sent chills through me. My jacket was in the car. I trudged reluctantly on towards home, dreading going home, but not quite wanting to stay outside all night. Mom would just give me a lecture about getting suspended and the impact it had on my permanent record, and ground me. Then J.J would ask me to come over and, being oh-so-tempted, I'd climb out of my window and walk over to J.J's house, only a block away form me. It was a process I've done too many times and didn't want to do again.

If I was being honest with myself, I wanted to go to sleep as soon as possible. Maybe I'd have another dream and see the angel again. It was odd, though. I couldn't seem to remember the angel's specific features. All I could remember was that he wore a lot of black and had midnight black wings that matched his midnight eyes…..

_Eyes._

Fang had midnight eyes, just like the angel. And, a fact that I didn't notice until right now, he wore a lot of black. Could it be possible that I met the angel outside of my dreams? What did he say again?

"We shall meet again, my Angel."

I suddenly felt very warm inside. I wanted to see the angel again. I wanted to hear him call me Angel. I'd have to pray he'd be in my dreams.

Then I took off running to my house. The sooner I was asleep, the better.

I walked into an empty house. As far as I could tell, no one was home. But I called out anyway.

"Ella? Mom?" No answer.

I slowly walked to the staircase and stopped at the foot of it, listening for signs of life. Still nothing. I shrugged and made my way up the stairs to my bedroom where I shut the door, dropped my bag, kicked off my shoes, and hopped in bed.

Now go to sleep, I ordered myself.

I squeezed my eyes together tightly.

…..Five minutes later, I was still wide-awake.

I sat up, punched my pillow, and rolled over to the other side.

Another five minutes passed and I sat up, huffing out a breath in frustration and sweeping back my bangs with one hand. I'm never going to get sleep this early.

Climbing out of bed, I wandered downstairs and into the kitchen. Maybe a snack would help me fall asleep.

The fridge was practically empty. Seriously. All there was in it was half a carton of milk, a couple bottles of water, some butter, a block of cheese, and two apples. What did mom do all day at home instead of making sure the house was in order? Honestly, I don't understand her at all.

I chose an apple and grabbed a bottle of water off the top shelf. Then I walked to the living room and sat down at the couch across from the window, staring out at the weeping willow in my front yard.

My mom, my sister, and I all lived in an average, middle-class home in your average town. As I've said many times before, not much happened. But I used to live a good life. At least, I thought I did. I remember rolling plains with gorgeous red and yellow and orange wildflowers sprouting from the ground. The wind would pick up and petals of various flowers would fly up in the air, swirling around me. I would laugh joyfully, the skirts of my dresses twirling about as I attempted a grab at the soaring pastels that made the Earth all the more beautiful.

And I remembered a lake. It was a beautiful lake, the surface sparkling like glass. I used to sit at the bank of it and wonder what it would be like to dive in and break its surreal surface. But I'd always been too afraid to shatter something so magnificent. I would stare at the shining waters for what seemed like forever. The only thing that could break my gaze away would be if the water was disturbed by an animal or leaf, causing the surface to shutter and shake and shatter my tranquil haze.

There were also late nights alone under the stars. I'd spread out a soft plush blanket and lie down, my arms behind my head. The stars would glow above me, twinkling, as if they were saying hello. I'd just stare. Not thinking about anything. Just being in that moment was all that mattered to me.

But there was one thing that was in common with every one of those memories….

My _eyes slid shut and I drifted off into a deep sleep._

_

* * *

_

_I was back in the meadow. Everything was the same- the pastel-colored wild flowers dancing in the breeze, the moon (still full) shone high and proud in the star-less sky, and the trees still stood around the perfect circle._

_The beauty, though striking, did not distract me from what I wanted to do here. I was finally dreaming, which means…._

_The angel appeared several feet away from me, leaning against the bark of an outer tree. He didn't speak- just gazed at me. I was the first to speak this time._

_"Who are you?"_

_He looked mildly surprised. "You do not know?"_

_I mutely shook my head._

_His lips twitched. "Then I can not help you."_

_I arched an eyebrow. "Why not?"_

_"You have to figure out who I am yourself. Only then will I reveal my secrets to you."_

_I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth and rolled my eyes. "Jeesh, you're such a big help."_

_He almost smiled._

_"Can I at least know your name?"_

_He shook his head without speaking._

_"Then what should I call you until I figure it out?"_

_He paused for a second, caught off guard. We stood silently facing each other, on edge as if ready for a fight, but also relaxed in the presence of one another. Finally, he spoke._

_"Call me…Angel for now."_

_I almost laughed out loud. "I already do."_

_An eyebrow quirked up._

_"Nothing. Just let it go."_

_He shrugged but didn't press the issue._

_"So…any more fortune-cookie words of wisdom before I catch some real Z's?"_

_His lips twitched ever-so-slightly again. "No, go ahead. Get some sleep. Until tomorrow, my Angel."_

_The edges of the dream began to fade gray until the image was all black and I was once again not aware of anything._

_

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_

**Sorry for the short chapter guys! Didn't get home 'til late and I didn't even start the chapter yet, so I had to quickly type one up. But tomorrow, I'm going to post three or two chapters to make up for the late-night updates. And also, those updates tomorrow will not be at night, but throughout the day. I'll probably post one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. So be ready for that.**

**Also, I'll be posting a contest sometime soon. **

**But now I need to quickly check some of your stories and then catch some of my own Z's. I've got a choir competition tomorrow, so I'll be needin' my rest.**

**Remember to follow the three R's!**

**Review, Read, and Recycle!**

***Shiver***


	4. She's Gone

**Hey guys! This is going to be short, but I have to get to my competition in an hour, so I have to leave in a few. But I had to keep my promise to you guys, so here's a quickie chapter!**

**I'll answer your questions in the next chapter!**

* * *

MPOV

I awoke to the sound of slamming doors. The sound made me jump, causing me to flop off the couch and onto the roughly carpeted floor. Groaning, I sat up.

"Hey Max! Oh, I'm sorry! Did I wake you up?"

I ignored her question. "Ella, where have you been? It's-" I checked the clock "eight-o'-clock at night. And where's mom?"

Ella looked pained. "I came home, and mom was gone. I think she may have gone over the edge this time."

My mom had been a recovering alcoholic. When she got pregnant with me, she immediately quit drinking. After that, she was happy living with my dad and I, so she didn't have to resort to the wine cellar anymore. Then she had Ella only eleven months later, and she couldn't have been happier. For five years, everything was happier and fun in the Ride household.

Until the accident.

While driving home from work one day, a drunken man blew a red light and crashed into my father. My mother blamed his death on many things- the drunk driver, the car, the doctors, even herself sometimes. But I knew that no one was to blame my father's death. He had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. My mom, on the other hand, couldn't comprehend that, so she retired back to her alcoholism.

She would never beat us. She was just never…a real mom. You know, the type that'll throw on an apron and bake you cookies. Or drive you to school in a minivan. Or wish you luck and be in the audience throughout your whole school play, no matter how bad you sucked. My mom was just _not there_. Mentally and physically.

But Ella and I had no problems with this until a couple weeks ago. Mom freaked out (we still don't know why) and started throwing things around the house. I showed Ella how to climb out of my window like I did when Mom would ground me for getting detentions. (Yes, my mom is an alcoholic and she still grounds me.) We both climbed through and ran over to J.J's house. We stayed the whole night.

Ever since that day, both of us had been keeping a close eye on mom. But her behavior remained normal- or, at least, normal for her. We were always waiting, though, for her to do something dramatic again.

Apparently, that day has come.

"So…she's not…_here_ anymore?"

She shook her head. "I was out looking for her the whole day. I can't find her anywhere."

"Well, where would an alcoholic go, Ella?'

"A…bar?"

"Exactly." I stood up and slid my arms through a coat. "Come on, Ells, time to pick our mother back up."

* * *

**Hope you liked! I'll make a longer one when I get back from competition.**

**Review-------- For Pancho the ninja Panda. (O.O)**

***Shiver***


	5. Railroad Tracks

**Sorry about the late update everyone. After competitions, my parents decided to surprise me with an unexpected trip to some weird little town off the map. I had my laptop, but my Wi-Fi didn't work. But I could still use Word, so I typed up the next several chapters.**

**Anyway, y'all had some questions:**

**1. Silent Broken Heart: You didn't have a question necessarily, but yes, I'd love to read your story soon!**

**2. Midge 1012: Is it going to be something similar to Hancokc, or the regular loss of memory cliche? No to both of those. It's something even cooler ;)**

**3. helenaride:Is the rest of the flock going to be in this story? Yes...I'll just have to fit them in sometime xD**

**4. dogLOVER411: Again, you didn't have a question, but I'm going to miss you! Have fun on the trip though!**

**5. Fangxxmylove: What secrets does Fang have? Many. Does Max have wings? Nope. Why aren't my questions answered? Because my slow brain can't type fast enough xD**

**21: Do Max and Fang have wings? Only Fang does and only in Max's dreams. You'll find out why later.**

**-maximumride4eva: Does Fang know Max's name in the dream? Yep. Is Max's mom Dr. M? No. She's someone else's parent.**

**Ask anything anytime anywhere! I love hearing your questions!**

**Also, many of you are still a bit confused with some of the things going on. And I'm sure that if I didn't know the entire plot of the story, I'd definitely be confused, too. But I assure you, everything will make sense in time, so please be patient.**

MPOV

My mom was never known to go to bars much. Sure, I've seen her go a couple times. But she never visited frequently or stayed more than an hour. She preferred to waste her life away in alcohol at him rather than in some ratty ol' place on the bad side of town.

Speaking of, the only bar located in my dull little town was, of course, where all the deaths happened. On that side of town, people were shot, murdered, abducted, you name it. I'm not saying that bad stuff doesn't happen over here on the 'good side,' but it's not as bad.

"A _bar?_" Ella trudged along reluctantly beside me. "You can't be serious, Max."

"But I am serious. Do you see me smiling?"

"You don't smile."

"_Much._ I don't smile _much._"

"Still, we can't exactly just head on inside the bar. We don't look twenty-one."

"No, but we can sneak inside through the back door. The drug dealers let anyone in if you mention a bit of money." I waved some bills in front of her face.

"Amazing you would know that," she muttered under her breath. A little louder, "Okay, but it's still way too dangerous for two teenage girls to walk in the bar alone."

"We won't be alone, mom'll be with us."

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

We reached the train tracks that separated the two sides from each other. The train had stopped running years ago, though, due to a crash in the town when only thirty-some-odd people lived here. Ella and I hopped onto the tracks, walking along the edges.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Don't worry, I have awesome kung-fu ninja skills." I chopped the air with my hand and did a high-kick that knocked me off the tracks. Ella giggled as I rolled down the side of the tracks' hill. A bush stopped me. Ella rushed down to help me up and we both looked at each other once before bursting out into hysteric laughter.

Here we were, two sisters from a small town, going to find their delusion mother in a disgusting bar, and hoping we don't get killed in the process. And yet, we can still find ourselves forgetting all that and just simply _be._

* * *

FPOV

I watched her from a distance. What did Mr. X say her name was? Max. It was stronger than all her past names. But I liked it. It suited her style better.

Max hopped onto the train tracks. I sighed inwardly. Those better be unused tracks. Max said something softly to her sister and she rolled her eyes in reply, but still looked slightly concerned.

What was Max doing out here at night?

I followed the girls silently several feet behind. If Max is anything like her past, then I know that she'll be getting herself into trouble tonight.

Suddenly, Max did an odd gesture with her hand and kicked high to the side. The movement caused Max to wobble off the tracks and down the side of the slight hill we were on. A bush caught her halfway down.

Her sister rushed to her side and paused at her feet, smiling down to her. They simultaneously burst into laughter, Max clutching her sides.

It was good to see her laugh and look so carefree. It made me smile a real, genuine smile.

She made me happy.

* * *

An anonymous POV

I've found them. I don't understand why they keep coming back. Why don't they just die and stay dead. It's starting to annoy the bloody hell outta me.

Frustrated, I accidentally smashed the glass I had been holding. Crystal shards scattered across the room and pulled around my feet.

I'll get them. And when I do, they'll die, and die for good.

* * *

**Yeah, this was kinda a boring chapter. But some important information that needed to be said was scattered and hidden inside it.**

**One more chapter left today!**

**Revieweth for the Panda's sake!**


	6. Bars are not the place for teens

**HIIIIIIIIIII!**

**Me+ more than the healthy amount of chocolate-chip cookies=BIG UPDATE! *bounces up and down in chair, grinning like a ditz***

**Yes, I'm slightly scary when given too much sugar. *munches on another cookie.***

**Anyway….I got one question- Silent Broken Heart, here's a sticker! *gives you a sticker***

**doesn't the anon person just stop trying to kill Max and Fang? They're not evil, are they? One, story wouldn't be as exciting if he stopped. Two, no, they're not evil, technically…**

**Ask questions. You know you want to.**

* * *

MPOV

Ella and I finally reached the other side. The other side was totally trashed. Buildings had boarded up windows, and graffiti-ridden walls. Other buildings didn't even have the decency to board up the windows, exposing razor-sharp splintered windows. Cracked and empty beer bottles lined the streets. Shouting could be heard in the distance. And we walked straight towards it.

"Max, are you sure this is a good idea?"

I sighed. "Well, if we don't do it, then we're risking mom's life."

"Yeah, but we're risking _our_ lives by doing this."

"Just follow my lead, Ella"

With no other choice, she just trailed beside me, looking frazzled and scared.

We approached the bar quickly. There was a single guard outside it to keep out any under-agers. I nodded slightly at him, not meeting his eyes as I walked to the next building. From there, I went behind the building, traveling until I reached the back entrance to the bar. I pulled the bills from my back pocket, and hid them in a fist.

"Stay behind me and don't say a word. Okay?"

Ella nodded vigorously.

With a deep breath, I vehemently knocked on the rusting door. A few seconds later, a scruffy-looking middle-aged man dressed in tattered clothes that exposed a plump, rounded stomach opened the door.

"Can I help you?" he asked none too kindly.

"Mind if you let us in?"

He narrowed his eyes and he leaned in to get a better view on me. "Now why would I let a young bitch like you into this rotting bar?" He was so close I could smell the liquor on his breath.

I held my poker face and waved the bills out in front of him. "I think that's for me to know, and you to keep quiet about."

The mad glanced behind his should towards the blinding lights, shouts, and way-too-loud music to make sure no one was watching. Then he discreetly took the money into his hand and held the door open wider for us to step in.

I paused. "I'm glad we understand each other."

"You're a damn good dealer for a sixteen-year-old."

I gave him a smirk. "Just perfecting the necessary skills."

"Well. I hope to see you in the business some day, chic."

"Of course." Like I'd ever sell drugs with you, buddy.

I stepped past him and into the bar. Loud music was blasting through hidden speakers. Slutty girls in way-too-short-short-skirts and midriff tops danced on top of some of the tables whiles guys all around them wolf-whistled and called out things too disturbingly nasty to put in this story.

"Don't talk to anyone unless necessary and stay within a ten-foot radius of me. You ready?"

Ella gulped and nodded. She looked immensely terrified. But, even though it pained me, I had to do this. For mom.

I gave Ella a tight squeeze. "Be safe." Then we both went in our separate directions.

* * *

FPOV

I watched helplessly as Max and Ella went around to the back of the bar, spoke with a disturbing man, and entered the bar. I wanted so badly to step out of my hiding spot, grab her, and run off. But I couldn't exactly do that. I mean, what are the odds that I 'just so happened to be at the same _bar_ as you, Max.'

My God, Max! Why don't you just stay out of trouble once.

I knocked on the same door I saw Max go through just moments ago. The same man answered.

"Good day."

He simply arched an eyebrow.

"I'm friends with the girl you just let in. May I…?"

He inclined his head, appraising me. "I dunno. I think I need some convincing."

I sighed and pulled out a couple twenties. "That enough?"

With a nod, the doorman stepped aside, allowing me through.

I immediately started searching for Max. I found her by herself, wandering around the bar. She looked like she was looking for someone. Just then, a man stopped her and began to speak to her.

_You better not get yourself killed again, Max._

* * *

MPOV

As I was picking my way through the crowded, sticky bar, A rough hand lightly grabbed my elbow and spun me around.

It was a man. He'd actually be handsome if I didn't know what he'd been doing all night: drinking and trying to get lucky.

"Can you please let go of my arm?" I asked in a sweet, tone.

"Of course, M'Lady." He gave a dramatic, sweeping bow.

I gave a fake, practiced giggle. "Charming."

"Why thank you." He straightened up and leaned against the bar we were standing by. "So, what's your name?"

Quick, Max, think fast! "Madeline," I answered casually.

"Madeline, huh? That's a pretty name."

"Thanks."

"So, what do people call you?"

"Madd, Maddie. Oh, and someone once called me May May."

He grinned a boyish grin that you expect from the quarter-back on the football team. "That's cute."

I nodded and smiled back. "What's your name?"

"Adam."

"OH! I _love_ that name!" I exclaimed like a regular ditz.

He smiled seductively at me. "Really? What do you say we take this conversation to the dance floor."

_Perfect._ The dance floor on the top level of the bar would definitely give me a good view of the whole place. I'd go up there without a dirty-minded guy with me, but you can't exactly just stand in the middle of a dance floor doing _nothing._

I smiled seductively back. "Sure."

Adam caught hold of my wrist and towed me up the stairs and into the middle of the dance floor. He pulled my body against his and he started swaying and grinding against me in time to the music.

_I can't believe I'm doing this,_ I thought._ This is totally disgusting._

But I went along with it, letting my body flow with the music.

As Adam closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of my body and trailed kisses and nipped slightly at my neck, I scoured out the bar, completely ignoring him except for the appropriate moan or sigh now and then.

Yes, Maximum Ride knows how to be a seductive barbie doll. But I save it for secret missions.

I looked at every blond head in the bar. Her hair's too short. Mom would never wear something that skimpy. Mom's not _that_ young. Not the right hair color. Hair to perfect. Mom wears red lipstick, not pink. Hey that kinda looks- oh, wait. That's a _guy_. Oops. Sorry, mom.

Defeated, I returned my attention to the boy throwing himself at me. Currently, he was sliding his hands up and down my back_ inside_ my shirt. How did they get there? His face was buried in my hair and he was nibbling on my ear, my neck, my shoulder. Anywhere I had exposed skin, he had his mouth. (From waist up, for those of you with the sick minds out there.)

He kept pressing me closer and closer to him. And then his hands slowly traveled down from my back, to my butt, then he was groping under the fabric of the skirt I hastily threw on before Ella and I left.

I groaned, trying to resist kicking the guy where the sun don't shine, and he took it as passion.

"Wanna go somewhere more private?" he whispered huskily in my ear.

"Uh…"

Adam took my hesitation as temptation and started pulling me towards a dark corner. Frantic, I threw a hasty glance over my shoulder. Meeting Ella's eyes, I sent her a look saying 'help me!' and motioned towards the guy trailing me towards a solitary corner. She understood instantly and began to make her way towards me.

We reached the corner and Adam began tugging at the corners of my shirt. "Let's see what you're hiding under this nasty ol' fabric, baby."

I giggled nervously and he noticed. "Don't be scared," he murmured. "If this is your first time, I'll make it special."

_Uhm…Gag! Ella, hurry!_

Adam tugged the shirt off me and started groping for the hook on my bra. I searched for Ella and saw she was caught up by a fight that had fired up between two drunks. By the time she got here, I'd be known as the school's biggest slut.

I knew I only had one choice. To prevent Adam from tugging off my clothes, I smashed my lips to his, slipping my tongue into his mouth. The effect did as planned. He was too startled by my sudden affection to bother with my clothes. He simply kissed me back and tangled his hands into my hair.

_Ella. Hurry up! Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on-_

Someone cleared their throat. I instantly recognized the person as Ella and, as quickly as I could manage, I untangled myself from Adam and tugged my shirt back over my head.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Mum needs us home, Maddie." Ella used a fake-but very believing- British accent. Huh. I wonder why I didn't think of that before.

I quickly covered it up with one of my own British accents. "Of course, sister-dear. Mum'll probably be expecting us soon, and we have a long drive home!"

"Since when did you have a sexy British accent?"

I resisted the urge to smack him. "Silly, I've always had it. You just didn't notice. Now let's get home before Mum kills us both and we end up in the bloody torture chamber again."

"You're parents have a torture chamber?" Adam looked genuinely confused.

"Of coursed, silly. Doesn't your Mum lock you up in one when you do something wrong?"

Adam looked terrified of me. "Uh… I'll catch you later…" He melted back into the crowd and I sighed in relief.

"Thank God, Ella. That boy was more persistent than dad was when he tried to get us to eat vegetables when we were young." I hugged her. "I cannot begin to think how I can repay you."

"You wanna know how?"

I nodded.

"Get us out of this hell hole before something really bad happens."

I laughed and linked arms with her. "Let us go, sister-dear. Don't want to keep Mum waiting, now do I?"

"Of course not, sister-mine!"

We teased each other in our somehow fluent British accents as we walked out the way we came with a quick good-bye to the doorman.

* * *

FPOV

I was boiling with rage. How could Max have let that man grope her without so much as an attempt to push him off. I watched her silently from my perch on a barstool to see how the night would end.

As the night progressed, I saw that Max didn't really have any feelings towards the guy. She was just using him to get access to the middle of the dance floor, which had a good over-view of the place. Max scanned the room with hope dancing in her eyes. But by the time her search was over, it was lost. Who was Max looking for in a _bar?_

One thing was for sure- I needed to talk to Max tomorrow at school. If I didn't get to know her soon, my time may run out. Then we'll both stop coming back to life.

And we'll never be able to live our love in peace.

* * *

**Alrighty then. I'm off to bed. G'night everyone! Review, get some rest, and I'll see you all back here tomorrow!**


	7. Dramatic Detentions for All!

I just finished the last chapter of the story. *wipes away tears* You guys are going to hate me at the end of it. And you might cry. I'll post an excerpt of it at the end of this chapter. There will be a sequel, just telling you now. Anyway, now I must write all the chapters in between.

Also….. *screams at the top of my lungs* AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Did any of you read the ending to Fang?

Really? Me neither.

Not the point. Point is, it's *SPOILER ALERT* rumored that Fang leaves Max!

*screams again* I KNOW!!!!!

Now, if you HAVE read Fang, please leave me in peace and do not say if it is true or not. Please let me slowly die away with anticipation of the book to see if I'll cry or not.

After all, I have to have a better reason other than, "I have to get the book, it's titled _Fang._ Who wouldn't get it?" to buy the book. So, let me use the suspension as a reason.

Thank you. Anyway….

Questions:

1. nm-maximumride4eva: Who wants to kill Max and Fang? A very old 'friend.' Is it an old enemy? Yep. Is this fic like the immortals series? *thinks about it* Eh…._kinda. _Once the story progresses on, you will see some similarities in it, but in the whole scheme of things, they are very much different. What will Fang say to her? Information that will be disclosed in this awesome chapter. Where's Max's mom? …..Wandering.

2. Fangxxmylove: Answer to all your questions (you have too many to list xD), You'll find out soon enough. *takes your flavored sugar stash and hides it under my bed.* No more sugar for you ^^

And this is a shout out to AndThenItBegan. I forgot to give you a shout out before, but thank you so much for that review! It means a lot to me.

You know those fleeting thoughts spinning around your brain every time you read this fanfic? Ask the little thoughts- set them free.

Disclaimer: Is J.P a teenage girl with long brown hair and green eyes and a bad attitude? I didn't think so.

MPOV

We broke out into the cold September air and huddled close for some warmth. Ever since we left the bar, we had been silent. Both of us had things on our minds. The number one thing occupying my mind was that guy, Adam. I cannot believe I did that, even now. I mean, I saw some logic in it in the beginning, but what bout after I was done searching for my mom? I could've pushed him away right then and there. It was almost as if a… _force_ was compelling me to stay there, to forget Ella, to forget _Angel_. Did someone spike my drink? No, I didn't have a drink. God, this is frustrating!

"Max?" Ella asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"What was up with the guy?"

I bit my lip. "Honestly, Ell, I don't know. I used him to get in the middle of the dance floor, and then…I just couldn't leave. I don't know what it was."

"Okay, but I'm telling you right now, that man was a whore."

"Yes, that was one big man-whore."

We cracked up laughing and talked about lighter subjects the rest of the way home.

There was an irritating beeping sound in the back of my head.

_That's your alarm clock,_ my conscience told me.

I groaned up and pressed the button to shut it off. Then I grudgingly got up and made my way down the stairs.

Ella was already at the table eating dry cereal. "Morning," she called.

"No milk?" I asked.

"Nope. The whole house is practically empty. Today's grocery day."

I sighed. "I'll pick something up after school. Can you walk home with J.J today?"

"Sure."

"Okay. Car leaves in thirty minutes. Be ready."

"Since when do you care about getting to school early."

"Since today." I smacked her lightly upside the head. "Now let's go."

I took the stairs two-at-a-time. Did I really care about getting to school on time? No. If I was being honest with myself, I just wanted to see Fang.

_What?_ Is there something _wrong_ with wanting to see my sweetie-

WHOA! WHOA! What?! WHAT?! Something is seriously messed up in my head….

I shook my thoughts away and shut my door, looking at my closet and dreading having to pick out an outfit.

Maybe I wouldn't have to….

"Hey Ella…."

* * *

Me ish das _zehr _uncomfortable. (That means I'm very uncomfortable in German, and with my own little twist xD) ((And no, I don't _know_ if I spelled it right.))

I climbed out of the car and tugged down my shorts self-consciously.

Yeah, yeah, I know the drill. What am I wearing? Is it something girly? Max, what the hell is wrong with you?!

I'm wearing basketball shorts. Not that bad, but still. Maximum Ride does not do shorts. (And not in the way, you sickly-minded people!)

No, it's not girly. Honestly, I thought you'd all know me better. It's simply _shorts_ people. Let. It. _Go._

WHAT?! What did I do?! (You all look at me pointedly) _What?!_ God! I swear, you people are all _insane!_

Or maybe I'm insane. After all, I'm having a conversation inside my head while walking through the hallways of school.

Yeah. I'm insane.

Sighing, I got to my locker and took out some books, shoving them into the plain black bag I had. Slamming my locker shut, I headed off to advanced history with Mr. X. (That's such a cool name… Wait. Max. No conversations with yourself…)

So I'm sure you're all probably wondering how I got myself into advance history, right? I mean, that's a hard class to get into. But, I have a 'gift' as Mr. X calls it. I can date back to some centuries ago and know everything as if I was digging it up from memory. Though, that'd be totally impossible.

Right?

Right.

Mr. X looked up from his papers as I walked in the door. "Well, well, well. Maximum Ride,_ early_ to my class." He started clapping. "Well done, Ms. Ride."

"Cause I'm such a lady," I muttered, walking to my seat.

First period dragged by in a blur of hilarious comments from Mr. X, a few detentions from note passing, and a couple of worksheets. I had second period with Fang.

Ms. Carp was writing down a heavy math equation as I entered the room, three minutes late. She glanced at me. Kind of. It was more of a disguised dirty look.

"Ms. Ride, I really don't feel like dealing with you today. Just take a seat in the back next to Mr. Xavier and try not to fall asleep."

I saluted her. "Yes Ma'am."

I walked as slowly as possible to my seat, just cause I _love_ to annoy Ms. Carp. She rolled her eyes as I dramatically plopped loudly into my seat and made a big show of not being able to find a pencil.

"Oh, well, would you look at that? I forgot my pencil! My _pencil!_ Oh, _how _will I go _on?!_" I got a couple fake tears to run down my cheeks, and I fanned my face with my hand. Students around me tried to smother their laughs at my dramatics. "And, there I was, thinking the both of us had something special. But apparently _not,_ considering he just _left _me here to _shrivel up _and _die! Donny," _I called, looking up at the ceiling, as if looking up to the heavens above. "Why? _Why?! _Why did you do this, Donny?!" Numerous kids in the room lost their tight hold on their laughs, causing the room to erupt with laughter.

"Here, Max. I've got a brand-new pencil for you, right here." Fang waved a pencil in front of my face and I made a grab for it as if it was my life hanging by its toes.

"THANK GOD! I thought I was going to DIE there, for a second!"

Ms. Carp rapped a ruler on her desk multiple times, getting hold of the class once more.

"Okay, Maximum. Since you seem to have _such_ a fondness of the theater, I hope you won't minding serving out my multiple detentions _in the school play!_"

I choked on my own spit. "_Whaaaat?"_

She nodded. "That's right. I'll be notifying Mrs. Bray of her newest, most enthusiastic member today. Have fun in the theater, Max."

Throwing an evil smile at me, Ms. Carp turned back to the board and I slouched in my seat, pissed-freaking-off.

"Max." I looked over at Fang. "Don't worry. I'll be there for you."

Realizing what he meant, I leaned back in my seat, grinning. Thank God I have Fang there for me. But… how was he going to get into the play?

Fang took his cell phone out of his pocket and put on "The Sharpest Lives," by My Chemical Romance. He started singing along with the lyrics,

"_Well it rains and it pours when you're out on your own-"_ Sadly, that's as far as he got before Ms. Carp turned and shouted. "Theater detention for you, too, Mr. Xavier!"

Huffing, Ms. Carp turned back to her board, finishing up the problem.

So _that _was how he would do it.


	8. New Friends and Auditions

*screams (a happy scream) again* I cannot believe you guys! *huggles you all* Almost _a whole page_ of reviews! The most yet!

You. Guys. Rock.

Question Time!

: Was chapter 7 the second to last chapter? Nope! Actually, as I was writing chapter 7, I got this really good idea. So I stopped writing chapter seven and wrote the last chapter xD. That's why I didn't post Sunday- too busy writing the last one.

: Have you read Fallen by Lauren Kate? No, but I've been meaning to. Is this story going to be like it? Dunno. Haven't read it :D More Fax please? Soon, hun, soon.

411: Miss me? YES!! Who's the dude lookin' for Max? Hint: You've already met the person. Does her mom have something to do with it? No. Heh, heh, funny story….. You see, I kinda just got rid of Max's mom because I didn't want to deal with Max having to sneak around her in the oncoming chapters. But maybe I will develop her character a little more. I dunno. Maybe.

'sGurl2009: Is this story like the book Evermore? Kindaish. It has a few similarities, but no, it's not just like it.

: I shall review for the Panda's sake! Pancho: Good. Now I won't have to use me ninja awesomeness skills on you! What competitions did you compete in? Choir *la la la*

Do you ever feel like you're about to burst open? It's because you don't get the answer to your questions! Ask 'em here, I'll answer 'em here!

Disclaimer: If I was J.P, I wouldn't be screaming of frustration because I don't know the ending to Fang (Dann America! Why must we get books later?! Are authors trying to say that we're slow?!)

On with detention- WAIT! I forgot the excerpt last chapter! *gasps* I'll have to post that this chapter!

_Now_ on with detention!

* * *

MPOV

Fang entered the theater with me beside him.

"Okay students, everyone grab a script and form a line. You will-" Mrs. Bray, a thin middle-aged woman with curly black hair, paused on stage when she saw us enter. "Ah. My detention students have arrived at last. Grab a script, you two. Just because you're in detention doesn't mean you're guaranteed a spot in this production. I may have to give you the roll of a tree or rock or a type of vermin." She gestured to a stack of papers. Fang and I both grabbed one and she continued on with her speech. "As I was saying, you will line up and, one by one, go on stage to recite your lines."

Mrs. Bray stepped off the stage and took seat in the front row of the seats, clipboard in hand. One girl with glossy blonde hair skipped onto stage first. "My name is Brigid Dwyer and I'm auditioning for the part of Sandy…." The girl's voice trailed off as Fang and I walked behind the curtains to the end of the line.

_Sandy…_ Where have I heard that name before?

I looked down at the script as we reached the end of the line. And groaned. At the top in big bold letters read

Grease

"Not Grease! My God!"

A girl with curly blonde hair, about a year younger than me, turned around. Clear big blue eyes stared at me. "I know! It's so over-played! We should do an original, like… Pride and Prejudice!"

I blinked. "I'm sorry?"

A dark-skinned girl with a very pink fashion sense turned around. "Angel, they're the detention students. They won't know what you're talking about."

The blonde one- Angel – smiled angelically. "Right. I'm sorry. Angel Janeson." She held out her hand and I took it politely.

"Max Ride. Angel's a nice name. How'd you get it?"

"My parents named me in hopes that I'd get 'the voice of an angel.' They got lucky." She laughed, the sound of bells tinkling in harmony.

The other girl held out her hand. "Nudge Sinnie. I don't know my real name. I was adopted at the age of one without a birth certificate. My name was Monique for a bit, until my parents had to keep nudging me to shut up. And then the name was born!" Nudge laughed and it was a nice sound, like caramel melting, slow and warm and deep.

"This is, uhm, Fang," I said after Fang was still emerged in silence

"That's a really cool name." We turned and saw two boys coming towards us.

"Hey, Iggy! Hey, Gazzy!" Nudge and Angel both called.

"Hey girls!" The boys called back.

"And who is this?" A strawberry-blonde boy asking, sizing me up and down. I felt Fang tense next to me.

"Iggy, you can't even see her and you're checking her out." Angel rolled her eyes.

"Just because I'm blind, it doesn't mean I can't be a real man!"

We all rolled our eyes.

"Haven't seen you around here," Gazzy commented.

"Detention," I stated.

"Ah."

The group of chatted together quietly as the line moved on. Finally, Angel was up next.

"Good luck!" We all called. As soon as she was behind the curtain, we rushed over and poked our heads out.

Angel positioned herself center-stage. "I'm Angel Janeson, and I'm auditioning for the part of Betty Rizzo."

She cleared her throat and a song started up.

_"There are worse things I could do,_

_Than go out with a boy or two_

_Even though the neighborhood thinks I'm trashy_

_And no good_

_I suppose it could be true_

_But there are worse things I could do_

_I could flirt with all the guys_

_Smile at them and bat my eyes_

_Press against them when we dance_

_Make them think they stand a chance_

_Then refuse to see it through_

_That's a thing I'd never do_

_I could stay home every night_

_Wait around for Mr. Right_

_Take cold showers every day_

_And throw my life away_

_On a dream that won't come true_

_I could hurt someone like me_

_Out of spite or jealousy_

_I don't steal and I don't lie_

_But I can feel and I can cry_

_A fact I'll bet you'll never knew_

_But to cry in front of you,_

_That's the worst thing I could do."_

Mrs. Bray looked astonished. "Thank you so much, Angel. That was amazing. Next?"

Angel beamed as she skipped off the stage.

Nudge squealed. "That's me!" Then she went to center-stage.

"I'm Nudge Sinnie and I'm trying out for the roll of Frenchy."

"Ah, yes. Okay, Nudge. I'll let you read off some quotes since Frenchy doesn't have any solo in the musical. I'll read the other characters."

Nudge nodded and began. "How do I look?" Nudge pretended to model a style.

"Like a beautiful blonde pineapple!" Mrs. Bray gushed.

A new scene started. "Sandy, Sandy, beauty is pain." Nudge waggled a finger at Mrs. Bray, a hand on her hip.

Mrs. Bray pretends to scream.

Nudge turned back towards slightly towards the curtain and called, "Could you please get me some ice to numb her earlobes?"

Iggy replied back to Nudge, looking at his own script. "Why don't you just let the cold water run and stick her ear under the faucet?"

"Oh!" Nudge exclaimed and spun back around to Mrs. Bray.

This time, Nudge said a single line. "Men are rats, listen to me, they're fleas on rats, worse than that, they're amoebas on fleas on rats. I mean, they're too low for dogs even the dogs to bite. The only man a girl can depend on is a daddy." Nudge went all out with the hand movements and placing them on her hips in the exact moments.

Mrs. Bray looked pleased. "Very good, Nudge." She looked down at her chart. "Max? You're up."

I gulped and walked center-stage with a 'HELP ME!' look at Fang. He shrugged and grinned.

I rolled my eyes as I planted my feet on the red X in the middle of the stage. I looked up at Mrs. Bray. "I'm Maximum Ride," I said bluntly.

Mrs. Bray arched an eyebrow. "Okay. I understand that. But what will you be doing today, Ms. Ride?"

"Acting," I replied seriously.

Mrs. Bray let out a frustrated huff. "Just try for the roll of Sandy, Ms. Ride." I shrugged and looked down at my script.

I sang a few bars of some song called, "We go Together," and, "Hopelessly Devoted to You."

Then I read a few lines off with Fang since I refused to pretend Mrs. Bray was a man. That's just a disturbing picture I do not want in the back of my mind my whole life.

"My parents want to invite you over for tea on Saturday." I said to Fang.

He gave me a 'Bleck' look. "I don't like tea."

I laughed at his expression. "You don't have to drink tea."

"I don't like parents."

Another scene started up. From what I was reading, it sounded like I was getting really pissed at Danny Boy here.

"That's cool, baby, you know hot it is, rockin' and rollin' and what not." Fang said, acting all tough and 'what not.'

"Danny?" I said, an annoyed edge to my voice, yet slightly frightened.

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

I resisted rolling my eyes. "What's the matter with you?" I demanded.

"What's the matter with me," he jabbed his thumb into his chest, "baby, what's the matter with you?" He pointed his finger at me.

I knocked away, angry. "What happened to the Danny Zuko I met at the beach?"

"Well I don't know. Maybe there's two of us. Why don't you take out a missing person's ad? Or try the yellow pages, I don't know."

Jack _ass._ "You're a fake and a phony and I wish I never laid eyes on you!"

Caught up in the moment, I pulled back my hand and _slapped_ Fang hard across the face. Mrs. Bray gasped, either from being caught up like I was, or because she thought Fang was hurt.

Fang and I both glared at each, and then stormed off the stage in separate directions.

When we came back on, Mrs. Bray was clapping. "Amazing! I really felt the connection there. You two were made to work together! Absolutely amazing!" She marked something down on her chart then called out, "Next!"

"I guess we're free to go." Grinning, we both left the theater and walked to the parking lot.

* * *

Sorry guys, can't post that excerpt. It took me a lot longer than I thought it would to type up this chapter since I had to find all this info out on Grease. So I have to catch some Z's now, but tomorrow, Ninja Promise, I'll post the excerpt.

*Shiver*


	9. Close Calls and Cursing Redheads

**Hola! I'm totally worried right now. You all remember how I said I was in a choir competition? Well, my teacher happened to like my group so much that she's forcing us to sing in front of the whole school tomorrow morning. What. The. Freak. _Is her problem?!_**

**Maybe it won't be so bad. Then again, we could trip up, choke, and run out of the gym screaming and flaming with embarrassment.**

**Maybe.**

**Anyway. Your questions have been answered! Oh yeah, and LAST CHAPTER EXCERPT AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER. For reals this time.**

**1. Piplup99: (loveth your story, by the way.) What's going to happen in the end? Something so dramatic, you'll slap me for it later. Does it make you cry to think about it? Not anymore since I know what's going to happen after that- something _good._ Do you think I'll cry? I hope so.**

**Broken Heart: Max's mom is quite the alcoholic, right? Yesh, Ma'am. Or am I mistaken? Nope! So the whole 'My parents want to invite you over for tea,' part doesn't make sense. Well that's because it's not real. That was a part Max was acting out with Fang while auditioning for the part of Sandy.**

**: Love Mr. X's and Max's conversation! They had a conversation?! Shows how much I pay attention to my own stories xD**

**4. Does Fang forgive Max for slapping him? Yes, because he _loves_ her and because he knows it wasn't 'real', perse.**

**5. dogLOVER411: The mystery person is someone they already met? Yes. You: *bangs head against computer* Me: *cracks up laughing* If Fang is Max's guardian angel, does that mean he'll still fall for Brigid? I'm thinking about that, actually. I dunno. I may do that… You should add some miggy! ….Oh. My. God! I got that perfect idea! The chapter will be called, 'Drama in Dramatics'. Fang and Max get into fight. Max finds comfort in Iggy. Meanwhile, _Fang_ finds comfort in _Brigid!_ It's the perfect plan! *huggles you* I lurve you and your genius mind!**

**6. Adelina's Electric: Wouldn't Fang be pissed for the slapping? Not if he's _blinded by love!_ Ha ha. But, really, no. I decided that if they were in a different setting, Fang would be pissed and they would get into a whole dramatic fight and then end up kissing in the end. _But_ since they were in front of Mrs. Bray, I don't think it would reflect too nicely on Fang if he tackled a girl (even if that girl is Max) for slapping him.**

**7. (non question.) Fangrules: Don't give up on your fic! I'll read it if you don't. *smiles and bats eyelashes***

**8. (non question) Weelich: *laughs* You're really funny!**

**There's a burning rage inside you. It roils and it's building up into an ugly storm. And suddenly- you ask a question. And the storm dies down. Don't let the storm get the best of you! Ask a question! (Ever notice how I push you all towards asking questions instead of reviewing? Well, it's cause I love hearing what you guys are thinking of the story so far…. That and answering questions is fun! :D)**

**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure J.P doesn't read forbidden love stories between two guardians and one just-so-happens to turn evil. *gasp!* Also, I'm not smart enough to write up a play that makes millions of dollars, so Grease is not mine, either.**

**Onwards and….Written?**

* * *

MPOV (Wrote this during science class ^^)

Fang and I were having a really good conversation as we walked to our cars.

"Think you'll get the part of Sandy?" Fang asked me.

I shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe. Mrs. Bray really seemed to like me."

"_Like?_ She _loved _you."

"You, too! You were amazing!"

He shook his head. "I couldn't act to save my life. But you- you left me speechless."

"Speechless, so speechless!" I sang out.

We both laughed at my bad imitation of Lady Gaga.

"See? You're an amazing actor _and_ singer. You were born to play Sandy."

_Well, _I_ thought it was bad._

I snorted. "I was born to save this world from jackasses and sexist pigs."

Fang chuckled softly. "Now that I believe."

We lapsed into a comfortable silence as we walked the length of the parking lot. Finally, Fang spoke when we reached my car.

"Have we met before? Because you seem really familiar."

"Well you look like this one guy in-" _my dreams._ I blushed and looked down. I cannot believe I almost said that!

"In?" Fang prompted.

I shook my head. "Nothing. Never mind. See you in class, Fang." I hopped in my car and shut the door before he could say anything else.

* * *

FPOV

"Well you look like this one guy in-" _Your dreams. Say your dreams! _I silently pleaded to her.

Max looked down and blushed.

"In?" I prompted, hoping she'd just say it.

She shook her head. Muttering a good-bye, she jumped in her car and drove off.

So close. I was so close to finally telling her my secret. _Her_ secret. And yet, so far.

How was I supposed to do it now? I can't just go up to her and say, "Hey Max! We're century-old soul mates! And you're a-"

"Dammit!" Someone shouted across the parking lot.

I turned and saw a girl my age leaving the school and patting her pockets before digging through her purse. She had hair that came down to just below her shoulders in blood-red waves. She was hot, but not beautiful, like Max.

_Max._

The girl who has stolen my heart for centuries, and centuries to come. With her wide brown eyes that were flecked with gold. And her brown hair that came just a smidgen past her elbows in delicate tendrils naturally highlighted with blond strands. And her body, slim and graceful and curvy. And the way she looks at the world, like it was the most precious, most delicate thing that must be stepped through with caution, but with life and happiness.

The redhead cursed again. So, being my well-mannered, gentlemanly self, I walked across the lot to see if she needed help.

"Pardon me, but do you need help?"

She huffed and looked up at me through bangs that fell in her eyes.

_I know how annoying that can be,_ I thought, brushing my own bangs aside.

"Actually, yes. I can't find my keys."

Well, I can help with that.

I held up a finger and walked slowly around her car, eyeing it like it was a piece of art. "I'll be right back," I told her.

I ran to my car, opened the trunk, and pulled out a black crowbar (please don't ask why I have the crowbar in my trunk. It's a long story). Then I ran back to her car and stared at the window with concentration. After a moments hesitation, I bashed the crowbar into the window. In the ignition was a pair of keys dangling.

"There you go."

She gave me a flirty smile. "You're so strong. I would've never been able to do that myself. Thank goodness you were here!"

I returned her smile with that even poker face of mine. "Anytime, Ma'am."

She giggled and put out her hand. "Brigid Dwyer."

I politely took her outstretched hand. "Fang Xavier."

Brigid looked slightly shocked. "Xavier? I've heard that name before…"

Inside, I started panicking. If she's heard my name before, than that means she may be like me. Or maybe people updated the history books. Either way, I cannot have people remembering my last name. It's not safe.

"Well, it's been in the family line for several generations."

Her look cleared up. "Oh, then maybe you're in my history book."

I'll have to read that sometime.

"Well, I better get going. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah! After all, I'm pretty sure Bray will take you as Danny in the play. And she loves me, so I'm, like, dead in for Sandy. We'll be able to be in the play together." She gave me another flirty smile.

_I wouldn't hold your breath. Max is going to get that part._

"Sure." I gave her a half-wave and went back to my car, crowbar in hand.

* * *

MPOV

The keys jangled and fell to the ground in a heap. Sighing, I slowly bent down and picked them back up. Then I put them back into the keyhole, turned, and swung open the door.

"Ella? You home?"

"In here!" she called.

I wandered into the kitchen. Ella had an apron on and was eyeing a cookie recipe like it was a bomb about to explode.

I laughed. "What are you _doing?_ Attempting to get rid of your amazing sister, maybe?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "_No._ I'm attempting to bake cookies for you."

I stared at her seriously. "I was aware of that when I asked you the question."

She clicked her tongue and turned back to her recipe. "Wanna help?"

My stare was one of death. I was out of the kitchen and in my locked room before she could blink.

_Whoa. How did I get so fast?_

I was probably just imagining things. I shook my head and flicked on my computer. Time to do some homework.

The smell of smoke had me rushing down the stairs in the fast way of mine (I still don't know how I do that). I burst into the kitchen and found Ella frantically throwing cookies into the sink.

"Uh…Ella? I'm no genus, but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to eat cookies when they're dry, not wet."

She groaned. "You were right! I'm going to kill us all."

I walked over to her and put an arm around her slumped shoulders. "Not all of us, honey. Just me while you cackle and make your escape in Iggy's car who just so happens to be your partner-in-crime."

Ella straightened and gave me an odd look. "Iggy? Who's that?"

"Oh, just someone I met in detention today."

"I thought you were the only one who got in trouble at our 'Angel' school."

"I am. Ms. Carp was in a pissy mood and gave me detention in the school play. I had to try out and everything."

Ella dropped the pan of black blobs-cookies?-she was holding. "The _play?_"

I nodded.

"But you _hate_ singing."

"I know! That is why Ms. Carp will be on the hit list cops will find when they come to investigate my room because I escaped from jail."

"You were in jail?"

"Not _yet._ I'm planning for the future. You should take notes."

Ella rolled her eyes at me for the billionth time that day and bent to pick up the cookies she dropped. "J.J is wondering where you are, by the way. She's all upset you don't hang out anymore."

I cursed. "I forgot about J.J." I sighed. "All right. I'll stop by her house right now."

"Hurry back for dinner!"

"Will you be cooking it?"

"Do you want to cook it?"

I pictured the house by the time I'd be done and shuddered. "No."

"Then yes."

I shucked my coat and opened the door. "Order takeout." Then I walked out the door.

* * *

FPOV

_September 30, 2009_

_I still haven't told her yet. Yes, I know, I'm, pathetic. But I just can't bring myself to shatter the nice little human world she's in and replace it with blood and horror and running away constantly. It'd break my heart to see the devastated look on her face as she listens to me telling her the stories of her lives. None of the stories were very happy. Every one ended with a death. _

_A very _painful_ death._

_But I know that I will have to tell her sooner or later. She'll figure it out herself anyway when she starts noticing the signs: Speed, strength, memories, and the mood swings. The mood swings are going to be the worst. And they always wrap up the process of coming back to yourself. It's scary, really. One moment you'll be laughing and telling inside jokes with your friends, the next you'll be ready to rip everyone's head off. The girls are always worst, too. And since I'll be the one helping Max through the process, I'll have to be the one to deal with them. _

_I shudder at the thought._

_Anyway, I've made my decision. I'll confront Max tomorrow, after practice (or detention for us). I'll make sure she's home, then I'll ask if I could come in. Then I'll take her up into her room and tell her about everything. It had to work. But first, I may want to get her to fall in love with me. That, or I'll just leave out the whole 'soul mate' thing until she understands on her own time. _

_I guess it's up to fate from here on out._

_

* * *

_

**And now, because I Ninja Promised, an excerpt of THE LAST CHAPTER! I know, you can barely contain yourself at this moment.**

**It was almost midnight. And I was dead tired.**

**The lights mixed with my dancing and the bodies pressed so close to me had me sweating and gasping for cool, fresh air. But I stuck my ground, even though my dancing dwindled with my sore feet and tired muscles.**

**A slow song came onto the speakers and people slowly began pairing off. Not good. I needed to find someone fast. My first instinct was to go to Fang and mercilessly drag him out here with me, but he needed to be at his post. So I stood on the dance floor, waiting for some random guy to take me to the dance floor.**

**Eventually, someone came up. It was a boy with shaggy black hair and I immediately thought it was Fang until I saw his eyes through the mask. This boy's eyes were a bright emerald green. Where have I seen those eyes before….**

**"May I have this dance?"**

**"You may."**

**I took his outstretched hand and he led me to the dance floor where we began twirling gracefully.**

**"You're quite the graceful dancer," I told him, making small talk.**

**"Why thank you." He leaned in closer and whispered in my ear, "It took me centuries to perfect." He leaned back, his eyes gleaming.**

**Realization dawned on me. I barely had time to shout a blood-curdling scream before the lights turned out and I was being whisked away.**

**Why must I always be the damsel in distress?**

* * *

Tell me what you think!

*Shiver*


	10. A Death

**Hey people!!!! So, incase you were wondering, I did not mess up singing today!**

**We were actually pretty good :D**

**I have no other news. Except that I may be updating twice today**

_**May.**_

**Question time!**

**99: How do you imagine Fang? …Uh, black hair, black eyes and a _gorgeous_ smile ;D Which story of mine did you read? ..Can't remember xD. I'll check later and review on it to let ya know.**

**: Why has Max's lives always ended in painful ways? Uh…she's been, like murdered. And being murdered hurts. At least in my mind xD. Why has Max had more than one life? You'll find out later, and other stuff. Why can't she remember anything from her past life? Because something has to strike a memory up into the conscience mind. Remember when Max was remembering back to the 'good times' in her life? Well, you'll soon find out that those were memories from past lives, she just doesn't know yet.**

**3. : Does Brigid have blond or Red hair, cause you put both? I did? Silly me xD. No, I meant Brigid, not Lissa. I just screwed up. She has red hair in the book, I believe? So I'm putting red hair into this fic.**

**: Have you noticed how this story is like an exact copy of Evermore? Yes, people have mentioned it. But as I told them, I'm only taking a few basic ideas from the story, like Max coming back all these times. But as you read on, you'll find that this fic is a lot less like Evermore than you think.**

**5. carmelcamera: Please tell me this is not another Max Ride/Twilight crossover fic! *laughs* No, it's not.**

**411: (Tsk tsk, missy! I'm gunna be a bridesmaid for my sis…when she's old enough xD) Max and Fang are centuries old? Yup! Who's the guy dancing with Max? Someone that I wish I could just have Max tie him to some wood and light a match at the bottom and walk away. But since I'm an author and must procrastinate with character deaths, I cannot just kill him like that xD. Also, I love your ideas! The first one can't work, sadly, and you'll find out why later on (maybe even this chapter! :D :D :D)**

**-maximumride4eva: Who's the guy that whisks her away in the last chapter? Someone that I wish I could just have Max tie him to some wood and light a match at the bottom and walk away.**

**There are questions in your brain, even if you don't know it. Dig deep and ask 'em right here, right now.**

* * *

MPOV

_The meadow surrounded me once more and I waited patiently, leaning against the front of a willow, for my dark angel to come. As time passed on and I, my tranquility grew scarce and I began to wonder if he was coming this time. He had to, though. There were questions that I needed to ask him. It was one of the reasons I decided to visit my meadow tonight. And with my hope dwindling, I had one choice left._

_"Angel?" I asked into the silent night. The moon was full, as it always was, stars winking at me. "Angel, I need you. Please come out."_

_Within seconds of my sentence being answered, the midnight-winged man appeared across the meadow, his expression as stoic as always. Tonight, though, his eyes looked worried. _

_"What is wrong, my angel?"_

_My lips turned up a bit. "Nothing. I have questions, actually. May I ask?"_

_"Of course."_

_I took a deep breath before asking the simplest of my questions. "Do I know you in real life?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Are we close?"_

_"In my mind, yes."_

_"Are you happy with me?"_

_"I am only happy when I am with you."_

_I gnawed at my lip, soaking this in. "What did you mean before….when you said that you had been waiting for me for a long time?"_

_He took a moment to answer. "I have been waiting for you. I was born earlier than you this time, and it was a lonely life waiting for you to join me in the world once more. I knew you were here immediately. It was as if…the world had shifted into place. So I came seeking for you. When I found your energy in the web, I contacted you in your dreams."_

_"What… What do you mean, 'this time'?"_

_"I've met you more than once."_

_I blinked. "Pardon?"_

_Suddenly, he was right in front of me. He pressed a finger to my lips. "Hush, my angel. All will be explained in time. For now, you should rest."_

_"But I want to stay here with you." I was surprised myself when the words left my mouth. And I could tell he was shocked, as well._

_He wrapped his arms around me, lifting my back from it's resting spot on the tree's rough bark. Until his skin met mine, I never noticed what I was wearing. I was wearing the same white dress as the first time. Have I always been wearing it?_

_As the bare skin of his arms met mine, warmth spread through me. The feeling of familiarity enveloped me and engulfed me. It wasn't how it was described in books. I felt like I was home. It was as if I've felt his arms around me a million times, and I'd be feeling it for years to come. The whole experience made me moan in pleasure. I wrapped my arms around him and tugged him closer to my body, wanting to feel this sensation over and over again._

_He, too, made a sigh of pleasure as I rested in his arms. Both of us had been waiting for years to reunite. _

_Reunite…._

_I suddenly blacked out, still in my angel's arms and I was thrown back into the past._

* * *

All around me was noise. Chaos. Some were running, some were running and screaming. Others stayed put, shock written plainly across their face.

I myself was in a very strange predicament.

I was wearing a royal ball gown from the medieval times. It had a square neck-line that stopped right above my chest. The tight corset and flaring skirt were a pale cream color with silver lacing. Cream bell-bottomed sleeves concealed my hands and ended with red. Beautiful designs covered the expanse of the dress. An intricately-designed diamond necklace rested on my neck. All in all, the dress was gorgeous. I couldn't believe fashion-challenged me was wearing it.

My hair was tightly wound into a black (_Black? I thought I had brown hair!)_ braid and it ran down the length of my back, stopping just above my butt. A jeweled crown sat atop my head. The jewels glinted in the moonlight along with my stunning blue eyes.

What I was wearing though, wasn't what shocked me most.

What shocked me down to the deepest of my core was the I was holding a heavy silver sword that I carried effortlessly and proudly in my right hand. (Apparently I didn't control my mind in these blackouts, because if I did, I'd be freaking right now.) The hilt of the sword was inscribed in French words that I somehow knew right away.

_Tout est juste dans l'Amour et Guerre_

All is fair in Love and War.

I stared fearlessly into the eyes of my enemy across the field from me. It was a man of about 17, maybe 18, the same age as my 17-year-old self. The man had rich dark-brown hair that came down to his shoulders in lucious waves. His eyes were an emerald-green. They would have been beautiful if not for the wicked glint inside them. His face was chiseled with fine angels like an ancient Greek god, and muscles were visible through his clothes. You could tell he was ripped.

"Join me, my love. Join me and, together, we will rule this world." He had a deep voice that would make any girls' heart melt.

"You killed my love!" My voice rang deep and clear through the air. The voice that came from me was not the sarcastic tone that I used now-days. This voice was commanding, hypnotic, and as rich as chocolate. It was seductive, making any boy bend to my will, and it was mighty, making every girl who crossed my path stay out of my way and follow my orders as if their life depended on it. If I thought I had a strong voice in the present, then I had a monstrous voice in medieval times. "He was half of my _soul!_ You will not go without sacrifice!"

"What are you going to do, my queen? Make me your everlasting servant? Make me bid to your every need and request? I refute even the idea of being your eternity-long servant!"

"I will not play games with you, Michael."

"Nor will I, Gabrielle."

"Then step forward, Michael. You have betrayed all us Archangels. You will not go without the repeal of your name."

His emerald eyes grew wide. "You're casting me down?"

I met his eyes with a steady gaze. "I have no choice. You have forsaken us all. Your title does not belong with you anymore."

He growled menacingly. "You cannot cast me down!"

"I can and I will!" My voice was booming, stirring thunder in the sky above and making rain start to dribble down onto my enemy and I.

"I belong with the Archangels!" He shouted back.

"Real Archangels do not kill one another!"

"What was I supposed to do? He sent Uriel away for two centuries!"

"It was her time, Michael! Metatron was only doing what he had to do!"

"What he did was cast my soul into sleeping for another two-hundred years! I cannot wait that long to see her again!"

"Use your patience, Michael. Use the virtues you were blessed with: Health, to keep your mind and soul cleansed. Organization, to gather up the unruly and dangerous thoughts and file them away for battle. Power, to take peace and serenity from the Earth."

"It wouldn't have made a difference," he said bitterly. "I'd have to do that for two-hundred years. It would not be the same as the feeling of her body against mine. Or the peace and stability she brought me. Or her undying love. Or her breath as we laid down for sleep at night. You have no idea what that feels like."

My features and expression hardened. "I'll have to now, considering the fact Metarton is no longer with us. One hundred years for me to go on without those very same things."

"Metarton deserved what I brought upon him."

"Listen to yourself!" I shouted, the rain starting to pour a bit harder. "You are not an Archangel! You are a Demon!"

Suddenly, he was right in front of me. He pulled back his hand and slapped it, hard, across my left cheek. "How dare you call me such vermin! I am not a Demon!"

Blood dripped down my cheek slowly from where his nails made contact with my cheek. With the enhanced strength of an Angel, his hit struck harder than any human could possibly strike. (_How did I know that?)_ I turned my head back up towards him and wiped the blood away with the back of my hand. "Demons kill Archangels. Archangels protect their kind from such kills. Now you tell me, Michael. Did you kill or protect Metarton today?"

"Kill," he said bluntly.

"Then you, Michael are no longer an Archangel. You are a Demon."

His eyes went dead. He reached down, still looking me straight in the eye, and took my hand holding the sword by the wrist. I knew what he was going to do. But I could not wait one-hundred years for my Metarton to come back to me. So I gazed back at him with no fear. The sword was slowly crossing my chest to my heart. I could feel its cool tip through the cloth of my dress.

"You said the wrong words, Gabrielle."

"But that is where you are wrong, Michael. I said all the right words. You will thank me later."

Wordlessly, Michael the Archangel drove my sacred sword into my very own heart. There was a flash of searing pain as the sword impaled me all the way through my chest and out my back. Being an Angel, ten seconds had to pass before the sleep took over. During those ten seconds, I laid on the ground, my eyelids closed gently over my eyes. The rain had picked up to the point of buckets. I slowly felt my soul being ripped apart from my body. The soul being removed was worse than the killing itself. It was like getting a part of you you never knew you had being ripped off, slowly, inch by inch. I did not fight my death, though, as I knew I could have. I did not scream, although it felt like my whole body was on fire as the light started to take my soul as it slowly dispatched itself from my very core. I did not move a muscle as the intense heat whisked away my soul. My body still had two seconds left, and it was the worst. Because during those seconds, you lay soulless and empty and hollow as you feel your last breaths struggle out of your shell. I felt my chest rise for the last time.

No, I did not fight my death. Because I knew, waiting beyond the earth, was my Metarton. And where he was was where I belonged.

My eyes slowly fluttered open. I was lying on the tall grass of the meadow, my Angel looking down at me with the most concerned eyes in the world. I was back and I was home and I was where I belonged.

* * *

_"Metarton," I whispered._

_He was confused for a moment. Then, slowly, a grin spread across his face. "I am here, Gabrielle."_

_I sighed, closing my eyes. I felt a smile of my own spread across my face. "You should rest now, my Angel."_

_I nodded, already feeling the darkness take over. And I was totally willing to plunge into it- but then I remembered a very important question. "Wait," I said, grappling with the threatening darkness. _

_"Yes?" He arched an eyebrow. _

_"Who are you in my present life?"_

_He rolled his eyes, the first non-serious thing I've seen him do in the meadow. "I'll give you a hint- I where black."_

_Black… _

_"Fang?" My eyebrows shot up._

_I saw him wink at me before the darkness whisked me away and I slept dreamlessly._

I shot up in bed, my breathing heavy.

_Beep beep…. Beep beep…. Beep be-_

I brought my fist down on the alarm clock, shutting it up. I had to think, and that wasn't exactly possible with an alarm blaring in you ear.

The dream last night was surreal. I finally unmasked my Angel of Darkness. Better yet, I found a piece of my past that I never thought plausible.

I was an Angel. An Archangel. Gabrielle the Archangel. And Fang was my soul mate, Metarton the Archangel.

Son of a batch of cookies! I was officially screwed!

Ella knocked on my door, making me jump. "Max?"

"Yeah?"

"J.J wants to know if we could pick her up today."

"Sure." I heard Ella mumble into the phone and then the thumping of her feet going down the stairs.

I stopped by J.J's house yesterday. She was a little upset with me for ignoring her for three days, but what could I do? It wasn't exactly my fault I got suspension, my mom wandered off, and I got theater detention all in one week.

Nope, totally not my fault.

I threw my blanket off my body and I swung my legs over the edge of my bed, standing up to stretch.

Today was going to be one hell of a day.

* * *

**You can find Max's Medievil Times dress at the end of my profile.**

**And now I'm off to go read some stuff on here :D**

***Shiver***


	11. The Beginning of it All

***nods politely to you all* Friends. Sorry, I'm in such a bad mood I couldn't even say hello properly. Why am I in such a bad mood? Because, look at the count-down clock:**

**Days until Mourning Day: 2**

**I know what you're thinking: 2 days? Isn't that Valentine's Day? Why, yes, yes it is! Which is why I, Shiver A. renamed it Mourning Day. To me, Valentine's Day is not a day of celebration- it's a day of mourning. Yup, I'm an Anti-V-Day. And, yeah, that doesn't make sense. Everyone loves Valentine's Day, right? Well I don't. Maybe it's all the pink, maybe it's all the happiness, or maybe it's just the love. I mean, everyone is so lovey-dovey, you can taste it! There is only one good thing about Valentine's Day:**

_**Chocolate.**_

**So I'm an addict, sue me.**

**Anyway, do you know what today is? FRIDAY!!!!**

**You: Big whoop. There's a Friday every week.**

**Not the point! Friday = Weekend. Weekend = MORE UPDATES!!! :D :D :D :D :D**

**Chester: Are you bipolar?**

**No, why?**

**Because you were just all doom and gloom one minute, and now you're all :D :D :D :D :D**

**…. Let's just get on with the chapter.**

**1. Piplup99: (By the way, y'all should really check out Piplup's stories Muted and Fears. Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em!) Will something chaotic going to happen during her mood swings? *rubs hands together and gets an evil glint in my eyes* Oh, don't worry. There will definitely be some chaos….**

**: Why does Max look different in all of her lives? Because the Angels don't really have a physical form. So they use human bodies as a shell. They take place of the soul. Throughout their lives, they remain human. Until they reach sixteen. Then the changes start happening and the Angel in them starts settling in fully. Hence the mood swings going to happen soon ;D**

**.Peace: COOKIES! *huggels you* thank you thank you thank you thank you!**

**: Does the rest of the flock besides Fang know about the whole Archangel thing? Not yet…. IS Michael a character from the book or one of your own? My own.**

**-maximumride4eva: How will Max tell her about her past lives? Through a very heart-to-heart conversation shown in this chappie!**

**411: How do you pronounce Metarton? Honestly, I don't know. My guess would be Ma-tart-on. At least, that's how I pronounce it. And to the rest of your questions: Yes, you have everything right xD How will Max confront Fang with what she know? By- well, you'll find out ^.^ Does Fang have the same dreams? Have? He causes them xD Have you ever seen LOST? Once or twice, I believe.**

**: You, ma'am, are awesome! Really! I never expected to get a review as commending as yours! You totally rock, and deserve a sticker! Chester, give 'er a sticker!**

**Chester: What's in it for me?**

**Your life.**

**Chester: *grumbles and puts a gold star on edwardismyromeo's forehead***

***hugs edwardismyromeo* Thank you so much! You have no idea what that review meant to me!**

**Disclaimer: Let's just settle this once and for all: I'm a girl, J.P is not. J.P is a professional author, I am not. Obviously I am not J.P. Therefore, I will not restate this any longer!**

* * *

MPOV

My car pulled smoothly into the parking lot and I turned it off. Ella and J.J were chattering happily in the backseat and they popped out of the car without a break in their exclamations.

"I know! He's so _dreamy_."

"Totally! Even his _name_ is dreamy."

"_Jake,"_ They breathed in unison.

I rolled my eyes and slammed the door shut, walking ahead of the two Jake-obsessed girls. I needed to find Fang, and J.J and Ella weren't exactly the world's biggest help.

My eyes combed through every inch of the parking lot. He had to be here somewhere. He always hung out, leaning against his car and looking as loner as ever, in the parking lot every morning. There was no reason why today would be any different.

Finally, I saw him leaning against his black Mercedes Guardian. Fancy.

As I met his gaze across the lot and I knew about my past, it was easy to see the similarities between my Angel of Darkness and Fang. Fang was Metarton the Archangel, my love and eternal soul mate, and my Guardian Angel.

And I ran across the parking lot, ignoring everyone's, and thrusting myself into his arms. He embraced me, warm and tight, and spun me around. It was just like those old sappy romance movies….

Which is exactly why it never really happened.

Instead, I walked across the lot and just stood in front of him, smiling and gazing into his eyes. Fang stared back, his eyes dancing with sheer joy.

I did a little curtsy, bowing my head. "Metarton," I said as I looked back up.

He did a sweeping bow. "Gabrielle." He straightened back up, as did I. "I've waited a long time for you."

"So I've been told."

He grinned and then he did exactly what I imagined before. Fang wrapped his arms tightly around my waist before lifting me effortlessly up and twirling us both around. The parking lot around us faded away until it was just me, Fang, and this little bubble of happiness. We both laughed easily and gleefully, staring into each other's eyes. He stopped spinning, but didn't put me down. Our foreheads met and gazed lovingly into each other's eyes. "You will never leave me side again," he said.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Someone loudly cleared their throats behind me, popping our little bubble. Fang set me on my feet and I turned to see Ella and J.J trying to stifle their laughs.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, shush you two."

Of course, they did the opposite of what I asked- the two bubbly girls immediately burst into rambunctious laughter.

"You guys looked like you were reuniting after a hundred years!" J.J said through laughs.

"I know! I mean, really? You guys just saw each other yesterday. With the scene you put on, it was as if you haven't seen each for ages!"

Fang and I shared a look, amused that they guessed correctly, but didn't even know it.

I shook my head and started walking towards the bulking building called a school. "Come on, guys. I don't know about you, but I don't want another suspension from X."

With a final laugh, Ella and J.J skipped along ahead of us and into the hulking building. When I tried following after them, Fang grabbed my arm and pulled me back towards him.

"Fang," I groan, but still smiled. "I have to get to X's room soon, and you know it."

"Not today, you're not. Today, you're comin' with me." He gave me a wicked grin before starting the ride.

Fang swept me into his arms bridal style and took off running.

Fang running was faster than anything I've ever experienced. It was faster than a roller coaster, a race car, a jet. When Fang ran, it was as if he were flying with the fifteen-foot long midnight black wings he always had in the meadow.

I let out a yelp and wrapped my arms around Fang's neck, holding on for dear life. Shapes and images whizzed past at enormous speeds. The wind gave me a cold hard slap to the face, so I buried my head in the crook of Fang's neck. I heard his laugh fly through the wind, his chest rumbling beneath me.

The, all at once, he stopped.

We were in front of a mansion at the end of my block. It was gothic-styled, as if it was built back when Fang and I were first put on the Earth. It was cream colored, though, giving it a slightly more modern feel to it. A wrought-iron gate encircled the property.

Fang set me on my feet once more, and I detached my arms from around his neck. He pushed the gate open for me and I stepped onto the perfectly manicured lawn.

Together, we headed up the yard and to the front porch. The door was unlocked when Fang tried it.

"You don't lock your doors?" I asked, puzzled.

He shrugged. "I don't really think it necessary. I mean, rarely any people even come by this house. And besides, I don't have anything to take."

He was right. The entire house seemed void of furniture. It was just wide open space with a sole grand staircase in the center of it all. Our voices echoed through the vacant house, making it even more unnatural.

Fang headed up the staircase and I had no choice but to follow him. When we reached the first floor, he stopped and led me down to the very end of a hallway. There, he opened a door.

Inside was Fang's room. It was all black. Heavy black curtains hung over wide windows. Two black dressers were pushed to separate sides of the room. A single black throw rug was placed on the white carpet, a queen-sized bed on top (with black bedding, of course.) There was a dome-shaped alcove was set into a far wall where two chairs and a table sat waiting.

Fang strode over to the chairs, beckoning me to follow him. I did, and took a seat in one of the leathery chairs in the alcove.

Fang sat in silence for a few moments, gathering his thoughts. I'm sure he was trying to think of how to explain to me what was going on without creeping me out too much. I could take it, though. I was ready to accept what I was and learn more about my true blood. After all, I've been living the past fifteen years of my life as a human. And all that time, I was really an angel, with pure, untainted blood running through my veins.

Finally, Fang spoke up.

"I know you must be confused."

I hesitated. "A bit, yes."

"And I'm going to try and help you. What would you like to know?"

"Everything," I answered immediately.

He nodded. "You see, it started in the sixteen-hundreds. The world was just beginning to become more sophisticated. Our Lady, the highest of all Angels, had premonitions of what was to come. As more and more people began to settle and colonize on Earth, the Lady had a premonition of what the Earth would be like after twenty centuries. She saw burning. The whole world aflame. She heard the blood-curdling screams of people slowly being engulfed in the flames. Until, slowly, the fire dwindled.

"There were a few hundred survivors who had been thinking clearly enough to go into an abandoned bomb-shelter or cave, where the flames cloud not reach. They stuck together in one group, knowing that they must repopulate and revive the whole Earth, the whole human race.

"The sun was gone though. And plants were scarce. After they died from not being able to get energy from the sun, there would be no oxygen left to breathe. So they were left with only two choices: One, wait it out and hope it gets better, but also risking suffocating to death later on. Or two, kill yourself and put yourself out of your misery.

"The majority of the people choice to kill themselves. After all, they thought, it'd be better than suffocating, your lungs slowly collapsing, the feeling of all of your cells screaming out to get oxygen, the need to breathe, but not being able to. Even the thought of it had them all shuddering. In the end, there were only twenty left.

"And soon, the twenty died. Six died of disease, fourteen died of suffocation.

"The Lady flipped early into the future, trying to figure out why this tragic end was presented to those innocent people. What she discovered brought horror to her very core.

"Around the twenty-first century, the one we're in now, the humans started to get careless, more violent, and more greedy. As a result, the Earth was slowly dying, as they failed to listen to the signs it sent to us in warning of the future. We became over-populated, violence-driven, and crazed. We could hardly be called humans anymore. We were more like savages, really.

"The Lady decided that she would not stand for the death of our beautiful Earth. So she called upon the Archangels to be sent to Earth and hide within human shells. We were to rule the human society so that we could make the calls of what happened to our planet, to reset the course of the Earth's life.

"For a few centuries, we thrived. We ruled as Queens and Kings around the humans. We were wiser than them, stronger, and more intelligent. Some even called us Angels, sent down to save us. And even though they were right, they could never know.

"Eventually, the humans started to act good. We had trained them well, and it would soon be time to go back to the Heavens. There was nothing else we could do.

"On the last century of our time on Earth, we had to send someone back on their eighteenth birthday. Then someone on their twenty-first. And another on their twenty-fourth. And so on and so forth. The person who wanted to go back first was Uriel. Uriel was the one who disliked our time on Earth the most. Of course, she was one of the main links keeping this Earth survived, and she loved the Earth. Which is exactly why she despised being around humans that treated the Earth with such carelessness. Finally content with the way they treated the Earth, she decided it was time for her to go home. But someone had to kill her.

"It was, of course, my job to do so. You and I were the leaders of our Archangel group and the Queen and King of the lands in which we ruled. You were granted your title because of your wisdom and skills. You were the most renowned warrior in the lands. And so you were crowned title of the 'Warrior Princess' and would soon be Queen when your mother of the life-time died.

"As Queen and King, it was our job to send back our Angels to where they belonged. We were to go last, killing each other and the same moment. And so, you came with me to Uriel's house that one cloudy night in August. I knocked on the door, and Uriel answered, wearing the traditional white dress, the true color of death.

"I unsheathed my engraved sword and we began. You stepped forward, and placed a laurel of black roses atop her head in place of the tiara you removed. Then you said words in fluent French that were meant to purify, cleanse, and set peace to the mind.

_"I, Gabrielle des Archanges, vous avez fixé, l'Archange Uriel, au repos. Vous trouverez la paix, la sérénité et la complétude dans les cieux et sur la présence de Notre-Dame et Notre Dieu. Le soleil le cri, la lune sera entièrement montée à votre perte, les étoiles vont danser comme vos rendements étant de les Cieux. Les fleurs et les arbres seront déplorons ces pertes, tout comme les personnes qui occupent la Terre vous aider à fournir. Mais vous reposer en paix jusqu'à ce que vous réveiller à l'aube des deux-centième année. Pensez-vous, de l'Archange Uriel accepter votre devoir et vous engagez Retour à Notre-Dame?_

"Uriel responded steadily, without hesitation or waver. '_Oui.'_

"You nodded, kissed both of her cheeks, and said simply, "_Je te liberer."_

"Which that, you stepped back and nodded to me. I put the point of the sword to Uriel's heart. 'You shall rest in peace," were my departing words. Then I plunged the sword into her chest.

"We did not watch the ten seconds it took for the Archangel's true from to go back to the Heavens. Instead, we faced each other, held both of our hands in the other's, and bowed our head, our eyes closed as we said silent prayer for Uriel.

"When we turned back to Uriel, her eyes were closed, and she had a peaceful smile on her lips. I retracted the sword from her chest, and sheathed it. Together, we lifter Uriel and brought her to her room. There, we dressed her womb and laid her on her bed. She looked the perfect picture of tranquility.

"Later that night, her soul mate, Michael, found her at rest when he returned home from his daily duties. He immediately sought after us.

"You and I were to stay apart from each other for the rest of the night, as were the other Archangels. There were seven of us, you see. Anyway, we were supposed to stay away from each other as a sign of respect to Uriel. Each of us wore white. Until the festival of the night came. We changed from our white clothing, but still wore calming colors, as if we were afraid of disturbing her rest. The only one not dressed for her peace was Michael.

"You and I were stronger together. All soul mates were. So it was the perfect night for Michael to pay us revenge for what we did. He killed me first, knowing that a Warrior Woman's rage was far worse than any one Archangel Man's. He caught me from behind, whispering, "We could have lived here as rulers. We could have never backed down. And yet, you betrayed us and sent her back."

"'It was the right thing to do. We had to put her a rest, as we will to the rest of us later.' I replied. Without another word, he drove his sacred sword in, wedging it hard into my chest before pulling it back out and going for you.

"As you know, he soon got you dead. And then the rest of the Archangels. But Michael did not know what he was doing- he completely undid the hard work we tried to keep for so many centuries. Instead of coming back in two hundred years along with Uriel to make sure everything was still in order, we came back every hundred years, for our being had never fully been put to rest.

"Each time we came back without Uriel, though, he just killed us again. He never fully finished us off. So here we are today, without Uriel, and in our next cycle. There is no doubt he's going to find us soon."

I was silent, soaking in that load of information. "Wow," I said at last.

Fang nodded. "Anything else you want to know?"

A smile slowly grew on my lips. "Tell me about my past lives."

* * *

**Alrighty. I hope some of your confusion is cleared up. If not, ask those questions! Also, if you want to know what Max said to Uriel, go to . Then, click on translator at the top. After that, copy and paste anyhting in French into the big text box in the center of the page. Then, select French to English. The full translation will then show up! Okay, now I'm off to read some of your stories.**

**Chester: You've been very boring today.**

**And you've been bery annoying today. Now shut up!**

**Chester: But annoying you is just so much fun. It's the highlight of my day, you know.**

**Chester?**

**Chester: Yes?**

**Shut up before I throw a Panda at you.**

**Chester: ....**

**That's what I thought.**

***Shiver***


	12. Past Lives and Lead Roles

I haven't updated…. In three days. *dodges any imaginable item and then some from my awesome ((yes, I'm trying to get on your good side)) fans!*

*starts crying* They're gone! They're really gone!

No, no one in my family. Powerful fanfic I was readin'. Guardian Angel by All Mighty Ruler. Check it out some time. Some powerful stuff there.

Anyway, I can't answer your questions today. Why? Because I'm in a very scrambled state at the moment. I have a HUGE, GINORMIC, GIGANTOR social studies test coming up, spring play auditions are next week (gots to start warming up ;), I have to face the school bus tomorrow morning (not that there's anything wrong with that, but, honestly, my bus freaks me out. And if you saw my bus, you'd totally know why.), I have a science test some day of the week, and one of my besties is missing! No, not like, Amber Alert missing, but like, she said she was coming back from vacation three days ago and I've neither seen nor head from her. Which is now causing my other friends to accuse me of eating her. *gestures to stomach* Does that look human shaped to you?! So, I am obviously too scatter-brained to come up with any logical answers to your questions today.

Anyway, I'll answer your questions tomorrow. Happy late Mourning Day! And happy Fat Tuesday! (Yes, today is really Fat Tuesday., If you didn't know that, go gorge yourself with food now while you can. It's the only day of the year you can eat an entire chocolate cake guilt-free.).

MPOV

Fang got a fond, loving look on his face.

"Your first name was Rose. You had firey red hair from birth, which is one of the reasons your 'mother' named you Rose. Your eyes were a warm moss green with flecks of gold that sparkled in all the right lighting. You had pale, ivory skin with a mouth with lips so red, you never had to use lipstick. You lived in a little town that barely anyone knew about. Our Lady figured we should start out small and slowly progress.

"At first, I lived no where near you. Then, you, having been born into a royal line, decided you wanted a new castle built to help put your little home town back on the map. I was asigned to help construct it. You came by one afternoon to see how everything was coming along. Since I was pretty much in the lead, you confronted me.

"As we got talking, we found we had a real connection. So I asked you to walk with me in the forest. And it just so happened that we found a meadow- the very same one that I create every time I visit you in your dreams.

"We kissed that night, under a full moon. And with the kiss, we discovered that we were both talking to another Archangel- and not just any Archangel. But our match made in heaven.

"We died together in a construction accident. The whole castle just collapsed on us- and it took us quite awhile to die." Fang shuddered just at the memory of the day. I was glad I didn't remember it- yet.

"The next century, you were born under the name of Charlotte. You had light brown hair then fell in curly, lustrous tendrils to the middle of your back. You had mocha-brown eyes and slightly tanned skin." He paused, looking thoughtful. "Actually, you don't look too different than you do today. A bit different, but the similarities are deffenitly visible.

"Anyway. I was born as your neighbor that life. Of course, 'neighbor' wasn't quite the same thing as it is today. We were a good yard or so away from each other. But we eventually met when our mothers ran into each other at the market one day. Your mum invited mine for tea the next day. My mother was more than happy to comply.

"Once our gazes met, we immediately knew who each other were. We rejoiced and reunited the second we were left alone. And that just-so-happened to be under the winking stars on the first full moon of the seventh month.

"You died first in that life. Believe it or not, it was a pitchfork accident. You were having a fight with a local Englishboy from a settlement over. You were in the fields with him, as he had asked if he could fancy a walk with you. You stopped walking when he started to get angry with you for not accepting his offers to go dancing with him. You, of course, knew you could beat him in battle if he tried to take advantage of you, but it was also against the Sacred Law to harm a human without rightful cause. The boy took a step towards you, and you stumbled back. Tripping over an upturned clump of sod, you fell straight backwards and was impaled by a pitchfork that was sticking out of the ground. I died later that week of sickness.

"After another hundred years, you were born into yet another royal family as Lucy. You had platnum blond hair and sparkling green eyes alive with excitement every second of every day. We were actually born into the same family that cycle. It was hard, sneaking around everyone, trying to hide our love. But we were going to tell everyone eventually.

"Before we could, though, I was chosen to make a journey across the settlement to the one nearestby. The nearest one was a good week's walk away. I did the deed without complaint, though. I soon died of hunger, unfourtunately, as I had ran out of food and water. Worried about me, you set out to try and find me; if not alive, then at least to retrieve my body. About halfway through your travel, you were mauled by a bear." Fang's whole face was twisted up with horror and disguste as he thought about how painful that must had been for me. It's a _really_ good thing I didn't remember that one.

"The next cycle- Well, you know about that one already. The one that kept us all here in the first place. You were known as Viktoria back then. And well, I think you know the rest of what happened."

"We came back once more in the 1900's. We never found the others again. Just each other. And even that was short lived before Michael found us and impaled us with his sword once more. You were known as Isabelle. You had long, snowy white hair and smokey gray eyes. I used to tease you, saying that you were a true Ice Princess." Fang smiled fondly at the memory.

"And, of course, we have this life.

I sat still, soaking it all in. I can't believe I've lived so many lifes, died so many gruesome deaths. Speaking of….

"You didn't say how I died that time."

Fang grimaced. "Don't ask, Max. For your sake and mine."

I opened my mouth to protest when my phone started beaping. "One sec," I mummbled fishing into my pocket for my phone. It was a text from Ella.

_Roles posted! Hrry bck 2 w/ Fang!!!_

_~CrzyGal3~_

I jumped up. Fang looked alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! The tryouts were posted! Come on!"

Fang also jumped up with me. Within moments, we were driving back to school.

Sandy: Maximum Ride

_Danny: Fan Xavier_

_Betty Rizzo: Angel Janeson_

_Frenchie: Nudge Sinnie_

_Kenickie: Garrison (Iggy) Thomas_

_Roger: Zachary (Gazzy) Janeson_

_Jan: Brigid Dwyer_

_Practice Starts Monday, January 8__th__. _

_Good Luck!_

_~Mrs. Bray._


	13. Author's Note Sorry

Hey guys! Shiver here, and I just needed to fill you guys in on some things using my very first (and hopefully last) Author's Note.

for the reviews! I'm sorry I couldn't get back to you, though. You'll find out why in number 2.

2. I had a very busy three(?) weeks. For the first week, I honestly have no excuse for not writing. If I was being honest with you (which I am) I just didn't feel like writing. I Know, shame on me! Second week, everyone who knew I was writing a book kept pestering me why I had stopped writing it. My reply was, "I had been busy with fanfiction for the past month or so…" My friend broke into my laptop and parent blocked fanfiction. When I went to her house (very angry, I must add) she told me she wouldn't tell me how to unlock it (I am very computer-challenged) until I wrote at least five chapters for the story. And for me it is very hard to just _write _five chapters. It's more like, "Oh, I like that scene. I think I'll use it in the next chapter!" So it took me a _long time _to finish those five chapters. This week, I had tons of testing. And then my teacher gave me a 'project test', as she calls it. On top of that, I have a 340 point project due in another class next week. Plus, I squeezed in getting a complete makeover. Yep. I now have almost-black hair, _sweet _bangs, and cool nails xD. I am a busy busy girl! Also, if I put a comment on your story and you're wondering how I did that when it was parent blocked, I got to read stories still, but it had to be on my friend's computer and under her supervision -.-

3. I started up an organization.

You: Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?

Yep. I started thinking about how Fake Girls, as I call them, are invading our world lately. I miss the real, natural beauty that we used to see. Whatever happened to that? Really, it makes me sick to see all those plastic-filled Barbie dolls on every TV show and magazine. I want to see real beauty, real life, back into publicity life. When is it our time to shine?

If you agree with me (which you should!) join my site. .

Also, if you're wondering why when is spelled wrong, it's because I wanted to spell something wrong in my organization logo ^.^ But anyway, join!

4. I will be updating soon. Or, at least, I'm planning to. I'll try updating tomorrow at my cousin's house since I hate spending time with them and will need an excuse to go off in solitude. Well, I don't really 'need' an excuse, but it can get real boring real fast just sitting in a corner all by yourself.

See y'all soon :D


	14. Fully Fledging

So yes. I did say Id update during the weekend. Now it's Wednesday. But I have an ultra good reason this time.

Recently, a girl had been in the hospital being treated for a tumor in her brain. Everyone in my grade knew her, for she was once a student walking and laughing and gossiping all day long. That was when her only worry was if that guy she liked in first period would talk to her, or what clothes she'd wear tomorrow. But over the time period of the summer, a tumor developed in her brain. Everyone was in a tragic state.

In the beginning of the week, word spread that she was on the brink of passing. Everybody was on the edge of their seats, waiting for the call that would make our hearts shatter. Today, we got that call. Several texts popped up in my inbox- I ignored them since I was just living for show choir practice. As I walked down the hallway to my classes, I noticed clusters of girls holding each other with tear-streaked faces. Boys were staring around with stony expressions. And then someone told me.

She had passed in the early hours of the morning. I was even up around the time she died, going to sleep a mere two hours earlier. She died peacefully and in her sleep, but that did not take away the pain we all feel now. I think about the future a lot. And when I think about the future, and then about the girl, I realize with a terrifying thought that she will never have a future. That girl that I saw smiling all day. That girl that I saw flirting with the boy I used to like. That girl will never get her first kiss. She will never marry, never find true love, never grow old, never have children, or expireance the wonders of the world. She will never be able to say the two words every girl wants to mutter to her Prince Charming, "I do." And that is what truly breaks my heart.

Classes continue on, though we wish they'd all just let us go home. How do we concentrate on something so real as what a2 + b2 equals when we're thinking about something as surreal as someone our own age dying. Someone we _knew._

Today, I saw people cry. Today, I cried. And today, a young soul was taken from the Earth at the wrong time.

Tomorrow, I will see people cry. Tomorrow, I may cry again. But tomorrow, we will realize that she is happy and that she is finally without pain. Tomorrow, a little bit of peace will be restored to our heavy thoughts.

Sorry. I rambled. For a very long time, too. But I had to get it out.

Anyway. Some story-related news:

I will not be replying to questions on here anymore. Instead, I will only type of questions of anonymous reviews. It takes too much time to reply to all your questions- but that is not a bad thing. I love your questions :)

Also, I will be creating a new story that will be up either very late tonight or very early tomorrow morning. So. Look out for that. No, I don't know the title, but just look out for my name. Okay, anonymous reviews, I'll answer your questions next chapter. I'm a bit too depressed to answer anything right now…

And another thing. Have I told you anything about a telepathic link between all the Archangels? If not, tell me and I'll explain next chapter.

Out with my rambling and in with the new chapter!

FPOV

A tingle ran up my spine. Automatically, I reached out in the web, feeling all the nooks and crannies, searching for any disturbance. And I found it. It was Max. Something was changing inside her. And I think I knew what it was.

But just to make sure….

_No,_ I told myself. _You will not invade Max's privacy again._

But I needed to make sure….

I reached back into the web and grabbed onto Max's life line. Then I envisioned entering Max's head, knowing what she thinks, _being_ Max.

And I was suddenly Max.

Max was still sleeping soudly. She kept dreaming peacefully without even realize her body was changing. Not on the outside, but on the inside.

_She was becoming a full-fledged Archangel. _

_Tomorrow Max would be fast. Faster than anything anyone could imagine. Faster than any of your vampire idols. _

_The next day, she'll be strong. Stronger than the boyfriend-friendly werewolves. _

_But that's not the bad part. Bad thing is the mood swings. They'll be starting any day now, and it will not be pretty. It'll be like a rubber band snapping somewhere inside her. She'll just explode on someone. And she'll keep exploding until the week is over._

_Mentally, I groaned. I was not looking forward to this._

I pulled myself from Max's mind just before she woke up.

The upcoming week would be torture. I would need to get prepared.

Alright, Fang. Let's get some gallons of water, a vacant garage, and some metal.

Nodding to myself, I grabbed a jacket off my chair and headed down the stairs. Mum was waiting in the kitchen.

"Fang? Is that you?"

"Yes, Mum."

"Honey, where are you going at five in the morning?"

"It's Max."

"Gabrielle?"

"Yeah."

Her hand fluttered to her heart.

"By the Angel. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Mum. She's just…beginning to fledge."

"Oh! Oh, okay! Then go, go! By all means, please, get out of here! I know it's going to take some time for you to gather up your materials."

I nodded. "It's not the easiest thing in the world to find metal strong enough to hold an Archangel down."

Mum sighed. "I hear that. Okay, not get on out of here, Fang. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Mum." I kissed her cheek and hurried out the door.


	15. Coffee Runs and Super Speeds

**I'm vowing not to make promises anymore. Have any of you noticed that I promised to update the day after I last updated, but I never did? And, I also promised to get your questions answered, but that never happened either. So I'm stopping making promises and just going to get to the story whenever possible.**

**By the way, I read Fang. *takes in a shaky breath* I cried. I really did *SPOILER ALERT* But did I cry when Fang died? No. I figured J.P wasn't that evil. Instead, I cried when he left her. I did. I cried for about five minutes before the sadness was filled with rage. How could Fang leave Max for twenty years?! Now Dylan is going to make a move and Fang'll be out of the picture. Oh, _joy._ Please note sarcasm.**

**FAQ**

**1. How is Fang able to get inside her head? I'm not really sure if I've explained this to you guys, so I'll just explain it now. The Archangels have a special 'web', so to speak, between them all. Once an Archangel has fully fledged, or are closed to fledging, the said Archangel's link is activated, and becomes a direct link to the person's feelings and sometimes thoughts, depending on how close you are to the person. Fang is very close to Max, as we all know. So Fang is able to access some of Max's thoughts and her feelings. Also, Fang has perfected this skill to the extent where he is able to enter her mind. Hence how he got into her dreams.**

**2. How come Fang's mom knows he's an Archangel? The Lady of the Archangels blesses specific people to bear the Archangels. And because they are Chosen by the Lady, they also know what their children are. The Lady tells them everything they need to know through dreams so that the mother and father are able to take good, special care of the Lady's beloved Archangels. Max's mom isn't doin' too well with that assignment.**

**3. Is Fang's mom an Archangel? No. She is still human.**

**4. Who is Fang's mom from the Archangel world? No one. Fang's mom is just a special human.**

**Also, shout-out to BlackAthena. I'm very, truly, deeply sorry you and your community is going through that. It's sick, it's cruel, and it makes me disgusted just to think about how many people actually attempt to do that kind of stuff. Absolutely awful. I'm praying for you.**

**On with the story.**

* * *

**MPOV**

Fang arrived to school late.

I waited by his locker, wanting to hug him and hug him tight, just cause I felt like it. I wanted to smell is nice, clean, Fang smell he has. The one that isn't clouded with various colognes and whatnot that guys think 'attract the ladies'. But Fang didn't come, and I gave up when the first bell rang, and I rushed reluctantly off to Mr. X's room.

"Maximum, I honestly thought you were going to stop this tardy record of yours!" Mr. X gave me a disproving look.

"Sorry, X. I was waiting for someone."

"Who?"

"Fang."

"Did he ever come?"

My shoulders slumped and I let out a breath. "No."

Mr. X tsked. "Well, you'll have to thank Mr. Xavier for this nice little pink detention slip I'm filling out."

"No can do, Mr. X. I've got stuff to do after class today."

"Like…?"

"Like the detentions I'm serving out in the school musical."

Mr. X looked thoughtful. "Ah, yes. I heard about that. Don't you think Carp is such a hag?"

The class erupted into laughter. "More like a dinosaur, X. I mean, you take one look at her and you immediately imagine her all RAWR! I'M GOING TO EAT YOUR FACE OFF!" I imitated a giant dinosaur chomping and roaring. The class laughed some more.

Mr. X smiled. "I'm glad we see eye-to-eye on something. Well, I'll let you off the hook since I know Fang is a nice young man and it's healthy for you to be hanging around with an influence like that. After all, it's not his fault he didn't show up to class."

I gave him an odd look. "Uh…it kind of is. He chose not to come to school today."

Mr. X paused, rethinking his words. "I really need some more coffee."

I grinned. "Want me to make a coffee run, X? After all, I don't really need to be in this class. Too easy."

He looked thoughtful again. "True, true. Okay, Max. Go ahead." He took some keys from around his neck and handed them to me along with a mug. "Go to the teacher's lounge and get some more coffee. It should still be warm." Mr. X turned back to the class and began giving the day's lesson and I sauntered out of class, happy for the excuse to be roaming the halls.

Being in the halls during class and being in them after class are two completely different things. I feel as if I'm being watched as I walk down the empty corridors of the school. And it kind of gives me the horror movie feel, Like, the fluorescent lights give off an eerie sense as it shines down on the pale walls and floors of the school. My feet echo loudly, the soles of my sneakers making hard slapping sounds against the linoleum.

I shook off the feeling as the teacher's lounge came into view. I unlocked the door and stepped inside, closing the door softly behind me. Inside, I got a little surprise.

"Iggy?"

Iggy's sightless piercing blue eyes looked up in my general direction. "Sorry, I can't quite place your voice, though I know I've hear it before."

I smiled a little. "Max. The girl who got stuck in the musical because of a detention?"

His face brightened. "Oh, I remember you! Funny how you're only there for detention, and yet you got the lead."

I laughed. "I know. I'm not even sure if I want the role."

"Well, just come to practice tonight. I promise you you'll have bunches of fun."

An awkward snort of laughter bubbled out of my chest. Iggy bit his lip hard, trying no to laugh.

"What was _that?"_

I laughed fully this time. "I'm sorry. It's just you really sounded like one of the people from those Honey Bunches of Oats cereal commercials."

Iggy shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Oh Max. What will we ever do with you?"

I smacked him upside the head and plopped down next to him on the couch. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

He shrugged. "Didn't really feel like dealing with first period."

"Why?"

He hesitated. "Well- there's this girl I like, okay? But I don't know if she likes me back."

"Oh, well, who is it? Maybe I could ask her for you."

"Ella Ride."

"_Ella?_ Dude, you're crushing on my sister?"

He sat up ramrod straight. "_Whaaat?"_

"Ella is my sister!"

"Whoa. Wait, Back up. You're saying your last name is Ride, which means Ella is your sister."

"…Pretty much."

Suddenly, a grin broke out across his face. "That's great! You could totally ask Ella if she likes me!" He frowned. "That is, if you will allow me to date Ella."

I rolled me eyes. "Such a gentleman these days. Jeesh. I don't care what you do, as long as you don't hurt her. She's fragile."

He grinned again. "Thanks, Max. You have no idea what this mean for me."

"Anytime, Ig."

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes before I remembered why I came here and jumped up. "COFFEE!"

Iggy quirked an eyebrow. "Maybe you should switch to decaf, Max."

"No, Iggy, _coffee!"_

"I wasn't aware there was a double meaning to the word coffee."

I smacked him upside the head again. "No, idiot, I came in here to get X some coffee and I completely forgot."

"Get lost in my sexiness, Max."

"Uh…"

"Don't be ashamed, I know my hot looks can be hypnotizing."

I rolled my eyes. "Rolling my eyes, Ig."

"Don't deny you're turned on by my just being in this very room!"

I finished pouring the black steaming liquid into the cup and slipped out the door.

"Oh, yes, Iggy. I just can't get enough of you."

"See? I told you. Oh, Fang is going to be up-set," he said in a singsong voice. "Maybe we just shouldn't tell him about this little incident-"

I shut the door and started walking back down the hall towards X's room. When I opened the door, Mr. X was in the middle of lecturing a poor soul about how they shouldn't fall asleep in class. I set his coffee on his desk.

"Thanks, Max."

"No problem." I walked to the back of the room and made myself comfortable in my seat, kicking my feet up on the desk. "By the way, there's a blind kid in the teacher's lounge talking about how hot he is. You may want to do something about that."

* * *

**FPOV**

"Thank you."

I walked out of the door and got in my car. After putting my buyings in the back seat, I decided to check on Max. I reached out, found her psychic link that was alive with energy. I grabbed onto it and pulled myself into Max's head.

"Maximum Ride, I want you to actually run this time. Not in slow motion, not jogging, not speed-walking, and no pretending that you have asthma when I know you don't."

_Max grinned and put on an innocent face. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Mr. Redd."_

"_I'm surprised you knew I was even talking through that thick skull of yours."_

_Max pretended to wince and put a hand to her heart. "Ouch. That hurt down deep."_

_Mr. Redd rolled his eyes and blew his whistle. Everyone began to run laps around the track. Except for Max, that is. She started out running as slow as physically possible. Gradually, though, Max's pace increased._

What the…,_ she thought._

_Her pace steadily began to increase until she was the fastest person there. Max whipped by everyone, going way too fast than what should be even humanly possible._

_Key word here, _humanly.

I snapped myself out of Max's head and sighed. I started up the car and began to drive home, already plotting out how I would control Max.

For, she has officially begun to fledge.


	16. NEW MR BOOK INFORMATION!

*SCREAMS*

*pants, trying to pace breathing back to normal again*

Worthy friends. I come here today not to write a chapter, (I'll do that Thursday, first day of Spring Break! ;D) but to tell you all some very bad news.

Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel is coming out March 14th 2011. (At least, that's the date for now.)

So what's the bad news? Well- why don't you read the summary?

In the seventh book in the bestselling series, evil scientists are still trying to convince Max that she needs to save the world, this time by providing the genetic link in speeding up the pace of evolution. Worse, they're trying to convince her that her perfect mate is Dylan, the newest addition to the flock. The problem is that, despite herself, Max is starting to believe it.'

So now you see why I'm upset.

Chester: Not really.

Fang: Yeah, me either.

Me: Fang, you're supposed to be missing, so shut it for right now. Chester- just- just *face palm*

If you're as idiotic as those two, then let me enlighten you. I am upset because MAX IS STARTING TO BELIEVE DYLAN IS HER PERFECT MATE!

*takes a couple zen breaths to calm down*

So, post the release date and summary on your profile. Help spread the awful news among us.

And Max, if you're reading this, (Which is totally impossible since you're a fictional winged character) then I am warning you right now: Leave Fang for good (I mean like after the twenty years and all) and you'll break his heart. He'll never be the same. Don't get together with Dylan, and he'll only feel slightly depressed. Dylan is just another robot designed by the scientists to make the sick game you're playing more interesting.

So. Word to the wise: Pick Fang. Not Dylan. And no one will get hurt.

I'll see you all back here on Thursday.

*Shiver*


	17. Somebody's Watching

Yo guys. I've got some new news for you. I know a lot of you hate having to read or scroll over my little rants about my life. Soo, I created a blog. With this blog, you guys can connect with me, follow me, and see what I'm doing. Also, I set up an AIM account. So if any of you want to talk to me, I'll have my AIM up every time I come online. Here are the need-to-knows if you want to connect with me:

Blog website: .com

AIM username: shiver615

Go ahead and read up on my life or just talk to me.

Okay, that's all I got. On with story-related news.

Unofficially, I have Iggy today!

Iggy: Unofficially and unwillingly. I like Lizzahy better, but noo! I HAVE to go with Shiver!

Me: That's right! You see, my friend and I have named our voice of reasons and put another fictional character in our head. She has Spiffy, I have Fang. One day in social studies, I said, "IGGY IS NOW IN MY HEAD!"

Her: "I WANT IGGY!"

Me: "NO WAY! IGGY IS MIIIIIINE!"

Her: "NOOO!"

Teacher: "Girls, it doesn't sound like a world history debate over there. Get back to work.

Us: "Yes, sir, Mr. C, sir."

Me: *whisper* "We'll share him on weekdays. I'll get him Saturday, you get him Sunday."

Her: "Agreed!"

And now I have Iggy for the entire Spring Break. …Unless Liz decides to come down to my house and beat Iggy out of my head.

Iggy: That'd be painful for both of us.

Me: I hear that.

So. Let's get back to the story, shall we?

MPOV

"Welcome to our first rehearsal, students. I'm going to be taking attendance. If you're here, say 'here'."

"Angel?"

"Here!"

"Nudge?"

"Present!"

"Gazzy?"

"Here."

"Iggy?"

"Yo!"

"Max?"

"Over here!"

"Fang?"

No answer.

"Fang?" Mrs. Bray called again.

"Not here today," I answered.

Sighing, Mrs. Bray marked absent on her chart. "Such a shame. I wanted to practice a few scenes between you two."

I shrugged.

"Okay, let's get on witht the basics then. As you know, I will be expecting that you all get good grades, be on time for practice…"

I tuned her out as she continued to drone on and on about who-knows-what. My mind wandered about fantasized worlds where it was just me, Fang, and our awesomely cool wings, even though we didn't have them in our human form.

Someone's POV

I sighed and rubbed my temples.

Why must she keep coming back? Of course, it comes of no shock to me. After all, I did see her at the bar. And I was so close to killing her, too. If her sister hadn't come… Oh, and her _sister_. She keeps coming back, too. I have no idea why. I mean, she's no Archangel. But she must be special to My Lady. Otherwise, she would have stayed dead when I killed her back in the 1800's.

"Boss, we moving in on her?"

Sighing again, I turned to my partner-in-crime. "No. Let's wait this one out the time is not yet right."

"Will it be soon?"

"Yes," I murmured, watching Gabrielle through the window as she recited lines over with the blind Archangel. "Yes, it will be soon."

Gabrielle threw her head back and laughed boisterously at something the blind Archangel said.

_Laugh now, Gabrielle. Laugh while you still can._

I'm sorry it was short. The next few chapters will be short due to the events that the chapters are leading up to. So, around, eh, chapter 16 or 17, the length will come back as long as the action. Sorry once again, I'll be updating more often, though, since Spring Break is going on. Talk to you all later!


	18. It's Time

**It's been four months since I've updated**

**-bursts into tears- I'm so sorry! I just lost this notebook that had all the Archangel's names in it, so I couldn't really continue on. But I'm back now and ready to get this party started!**

**Oh, and in the last chapter, Iggy's angel name (since I couldn't find it at the time) is Raphael :)**

* * *

**MPOV**

My nerves stood on end as I paced my room. I was getting jittery and jittery by the minute. The clock on the wall clicked with agonizing slowness. I fisted my hands in my hair and let out a frustrated cross between a grunt and a sigh. My feet grazed the plush carpet back and forth with a grace and speed that was not human in any way.

_What is happening to me?_

Heaving a strained breath, I picked up my cell phone and dialed Fang's number. He picked up on the second ring.

"Max?"

"Fang!" It was such a relief to hear his voice. It was enough to calm my nerves slightly.

"What's wrong?"

"I-I-I don't know. Something's happening to me."

There was a pause on the other end, scratchy static the only thing coming through. Then he spoke, his voice crystal-clear. "You're beginning to bloom."

"Fun," I said sarcastically. "So tell me again what that entitles?"

"New strength, speed. Basically everything is heightened. Especially your moods."

"My moods?" I ran a hand through my hair, scratched at my neck, then my arm.

"Yes. You're going to have mood swings like you wouldn't believe. Usually there is a period of you having extreme anger towards something very small. You should have about three of these episodes before you finally snap."

"_Snap?_" I wiped sweat that was beginning to bead off my forehead.

"Snap. We don't want you anywhere near people when you bloom."

"So when I snap, I bloom?"

"That would be correct."

"Do you think I'm going to bloom soon?"

"Probably tomorrow." He said it as if he was saying the grass is green.

"_Tomorrow?_" I squeaked. "But I'm not ready!"

"Don't worry about being 'ready'. By the time you wake up tomorrow, you'll be so out of control you won't be able to even think straight."

"Thanks for the pep talk, Fang," I said sarcastically.

"Anytime."

"Well I better go."

"Sweet dreams, Max." His voice was a whisper that wrapped around me and caressed my skin.

"Only if you're in them."

* * *

**FPOV**

I stood in the middle of the huge gray room. The moment Max has her third episode, I'll have to haul her out of school and into the garage I rented a few blocks over. Inside the garage I had put a bathtub and surrounded it with gallons of water. A cage sat over in the corner. It was a large one, made for a wild cat, so it shouldn't be too cramped.

Painfully, I remembered what it was like blooming on my own. I had to do it every life cycle, for I was the man in the relationship. Oh, joy. It is far more painful doing it on your own than doing it with someone who has already done it.

My mind, against my pleas and cries, flashed back to the day.

I sat in the classroom of Young High. It had started out as a normal day, but I was quickly finding out that is wasn't. Faintly remembering my last time blooming, I knew that I had just had my third and final episode. Now it was time for the grand finale. I got out of my seat and, ignoring the nagging teacher telling me to take a seat, walked out of the school. I had to find a place where no one would see me. I decided that since my mother already knew what I was that it would be fine to go home. And so I did. When I reached it, I was already starting the process. Extreme pain started coursing through me— I forced myself to tear away from the memory. I didn't want to have to think about that. Not again. Not now. I have to focus on getting Max through this with as little pain as possible. It will be a hard task, but it will be worth it.

Slowly, I started pouring in the water gallons one by one, bottle by bottle, until the entire tube was full. This tub would most likely be the most important piece to the puzzle.

It would be a hard day tomorrow.

* * *

**I apologize for the shortness. This was more of a 'setting it up' chapter than an actual one. Next one (which I promise to post soon) will be much longer with much more drama, action, excitement, and, of course, Max Mood Swings. :) **


	19. Episode One

**So, uh, -awkwardly rubs neck- yeah, I haven't updated in a long time… But I'm here now! Uh, in other news, I actually figured out that I spelled Fang's Archangel name wrong. Woops… I spelled it Metarton when it's supposed to be Metatron. Oh, well, I'll just keep it as is. Too late to change it now : 3 I feel like Richelle Mead who published the wrong name in a book xD Poor Richelle…I feel your pain.**

**So, yeah. Check out my new story: **Place For Fear**. I plan to have some major tension, shock, and horror into that book. –waggles eyebrows- R&R If you'd like (:**

**Anyway, Enjoyyy.

* * *

**

**MPOV**

The drive to school was terrible. I had to pull over at least twice to catch my breath and scratch the itches that were consuming me. I literally felt like I was on drugs.

The car felt as if it was closing in on me from all sides. My palms were drenched in sweat; I couldn't get the seatbelt undone. I pressed the button over and over again.

"Come on, come on, come _on_!" I slammed my fists against the steering wheel.

That's when Fang showed up.

He opened the car door and pressed the button on my seatbelt once. The belt slid across me and settled itself back where it belonged. Cupping my face in the palm of his hand he tilted my head to face him. His deep obsidian eyes bore into me, eyebrows furrowed.

"Max," he breathed. "Are you okay?"

My lip trembled. With a sudden need, I fisted the front of his shirt and pulled him to me, allowing his strong ropy arms to envelope me. I sobbed into his chest, letting everything out. Fang pulled us inside the car and shut the door, putting me on his lap. My body shook; my eyes were sore; my arms ached; several different spots on my body begged for me to scratch them. But I paid no attention. All I cared was that Fang was here and he was going to take care of me and I didn't have to worry about going through this terrible process all by myself. My Angel was with me, and, for the love of My Lady, I could not express how thankful I was for that. Could not _begin_ to describe.

It had to have been at least ten minutes before I ran out of tears. My head rested on Fang's chest so that I didn't have to support it myself. I gulped, afraid to ask what I deep down already knew.

"Was that my first episode?"

I felt Fang sigh, his chest moving my head.

"Yes."

"So early, so soon…" I trailed off as I closed my eyes against the world. I didn't want to face it. Not now. All I wanted to do was go home, curl up on the sofa, and fall asleep.

"Sometimes it's like that. Other times, you get them all at once. This one was very calm, but they'll get worse as the day wears on."

I didn't answer him; I was too focused on that dream of going to sleep. Fang's words started to fade and the darkness behind my lids beckoned me like a mother's voice to a young child. I reached out for the darkness that could take me away, that could put me asleep. Just as I grabbed hold, I heard Fang's voice say.

"Oh, and whatever you do—don't fall asleep."

A little late for that.

As soon as I pulled myself into the darkness, a scene unfolded itself around me.

* * *

I ran my brush through my snowy white hair. The candles on my vanity and dresser flickered once in sync before igniting into a larger, brighter flame than any candle would be able to manage. I dropped my brush, surprised at the sudden outburst of light. Michael must be near.

Sure enough, Michael's strongly built frame appeared behind me in the mirror. His dark hair captured the candle's light well, showing off gold in his hair. Green eyes watched me carefully, like a cat ready to pounce.

To busy myself, I bent down to gather up my brush. Michael beat me to it.

In the blink of an eye, he reached down, covered my hand in his rough, callused one. His eyes met mine.

"Let me, Gabrielle." Michael's voice was smooth, compelling. Had it been anyone else, they would have melted under his will.

But I was not anyone else. I met his gaze with ferocity of my own.

"I thank you for your courtesy, Michael, but I believe myself capable of replacing my brush to the vanity."

Michael's grip tightened on me, claws biting into my soft skin. Insane heat scorched the top of my hand, forcing me to jerk away. The wooden chair on which I sat wobbled slightly with the sudden move. After a glare at Michael, I looked down to assess my hand. There were small burns wherever Michael's skin had touched mine and tiny indentations where his claws had dug in. I clutched my hand gently to my chest, my unmarked hand covering it as if to protect it from further injury.

"You hurt me."

Michael tossed the brush lightly on my vanity. The loud clattering sound made me flinch; I was not used to hearing loud sounds. He didn't look at me as he shrugged and crossed the room to my wardrobe, where he stroked the dark cherry wood it was constructed of.

"You will be fine. I am quite sure that the high Archangel Gabrielle can handle a burn mark or two to her precious skin."

"You ignorant fool! I have not yet fledged! This skin will be scarred!"

"Well in that case, my sincerest apologies, Milady," he sneered.

His hands ignited once more, burning the wood underneath him. The foul smell of it burned my nose. I rose from my chair and pushed on Michael's chest. Surprised, he backed up a few steps.

"I beg you not to burn my furniture, Michael."

He glowered at me. "And I begged you years ago to not strip me of my title." A step closer. "But what did Gabrielle do? She stripped me of my title. My _power_."

"You deserve no power!" I snapped.

Faster than I could see, Michael was in front of me, gripping my wrists in a vice-like hold. Claws broke skin again, and I feared his flaring temper would burn me again. As much as I struggled, I could not pull my hands from his grasp.

"I possess power, Gabrielle. Just not the kind that you may have in mind."

Leaning closer, he barred his teeth. Fangs gleamed in the candlelight. I jerked back in terror, but he held on.

"I have fangs instead of teeth,"

Nails dug into my skin further. I whimpered quietly in pain.

"I have claws instead of nails."

Fire scorched my skin. I opened my mouth to cry out, but nothing came but air.

"I have fire instead of light."

Michael dropped my hands roughly and I backed away.

"You have made me a _monster_." He tugged on tufts of his hair.

"I did not make you this! You made yourself this!"

He spun around, fire alive in his emerald eyes. A couple steps were take towards me as if he wanted to lash out, but he kept his hands at his sides, curling and uncurling his hands. He opened his mouth, decided against his words, then closed it again. I smiled, knowing I had gotten the last word for now. Something in my confidence must have set something off in him, because before I knew it, he was speaking the words that made me fledge.

"I should have killed you years ago along with your worthless soulmate, Matarton."

Red entered my vision as I dove at Michael, my full powers starting to course through my veins. Michael screamed, the candles went out in wisps of smoke, and I woke up.

* * *

**Sorry for the shortness! I'm going to make next chapter longer cause Max is going to, like, explode during lunch or something. And then the chapter after that, Max is going to explode again during musical practice and Fang will have to whisk her away. ;) And then she fledges in the chapter after that! So be expecting those to be up soon! And no, im not lying. Im actually going to update on time ;)**

**Review? :) **

**~Shiver**


	20. Episode Two

**Uhm, wow. I'm kinda blown away. Today I looked at my story stats and saw that My Angel of Darkness just broke 25,000 hits. I love you all so much. Thank you for sticking with me through the crappy updates and messed chapters. 3**

**In other news, this chapter is dedicated to TrainToNowhere, because your idea was just too funny to not put in my story ;D**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

**MPOV**

I woke up screaming, drenched in sweat. My limbs flailed about, and somewhere in the back of my mind I could hear someone calling my name. But I couldn't focus, couldn't think. Rage was consuming me, taking over every rational thought in my head.

Strong hands wrapped around my wrists, steeling down my arms. "Max! Max, you have to calm down! Come back to yourself!"

I snapped in the direction of his voice, the red in my vision masking all images. My teeth bit down into the flesh of Fang's arm. He cried out. His voice pierced through me.

_Fang_.

I wrenched myself out of whatever place I was in, focusing in on Fang's face contorted in pain, and immediately released him. He let go of my arms and I covered my mouth with both hands. Fang collapsed against the steering wheel. I moved myself away from him, going to the far end of the passenger seat. I stared at him with fear in my eyes.

"Fang," I started shakily. "What was that?"

He didn't move; just kept his hand on his arm where I had bit him, his head falling back. "That, Max, is why you don't go to sleep."

"But-but-_what_ was that? Another episode?"

"No. You see, when you're fledging, you're at your weakest state of mind, allowing anything and anyone to enter through the telepathic web and see into your mind. They can make you see anything and, most importantly, they can replace your mind with theirs."

"So, like, take over my _body_?" I squeaked.

"More or less."

I pressed a clammy hand to my forehead, pushing aside the matted hair there. Fang pushed himself up to look at me straight in the eyes. I met his gaze with a horror-stricken one of my own.

"What did I do to you?"

He took a moment to answer, weighing the pros and cons of freaking me out further. Finally, he said, "Michael came into your body and bit me through you. We were lucky though—You don't have the venom Michael does, so your bite only hurt for a short term."

"And had I been Michael?"

"Had you been Michael," he began slowly, "the venom would have seeped into my veins and slowly killed me over a course of three days."

I gasped, squeezing my eyes tight and placing my hand over my mouth again. I bit down on my fingers to keep me from crying out. Just the _thought_ of that happening to Fang, _knowing_ that I put him in that very position today—It disturbed me. Just utterly disturbed me.

"Sh, sh," Fang cooed, taking me into his arms again. "You're not Michael. I'm not hurt. Everything will be okay."

"I want to kill him," I whispered suddenly.

"What?" he asked, bewildered by the abruptness of my statement.

"I want to _kill_ him," I repeated, louder this time. I pounded on Fang's chest. "_I_ want to be the one to kill him, too. I want to see his face as he takes his last breath. I want to see the fear in his eyes when he realizes he won't be coming back." I gulped. "I most of all," I said, darkness seeping into my tone. "I want to feel the blade of my very own sword slicing through his skin."

* * *

The day passed lazily in heat-flashes and mild rages. There had been several instances where I need to stab myself in the thigh with my pen in order to keep me from shouting out the cruel thoughts forming in my head.

But, hey, at least the itching subsided.

I could sense Fang in my head all day. He was there, in the background, watching me, making sure I wasn't going to have another episode. I could practically feel him flinch every time the pen went into my leg. But both he and I knew that if it kept the episodes at bay, it was a necessary thing to do.

Neither of us knew when the next episode would happen, but what I did know was that this would is going to be bloody rage. I could feel it through every period, the red-hot anger that flooded into my veins before edging back as the cool tip of the pen jabbed into my skin. There were twelve holes in my jeans (and myself) by the time I was slamming my locker and making my way to lunch.

Opening the doors wide, I immediately spotted Fang with the new vision I had already received. Although, that came in flashes, too. I could hardly wait until I was inhumanly strong, fast, and able to see farther than any telescope known to man. Even the thought sent excitement shooting through me.

I slid into the seat next to Fang and gazed around the table. Recently, all our drama club friends have been eating with us. It was nice to have some company besides just Fang and Ella and J.J. Besides, everyone was so nice to talk to. Fang even had his suspicions that we had met them before in a previous life. I couldn't say I completely refuted the idea.

"Hey everyone," I greeted. Fang wound his arm around my waist, pulling me tight against his body.

"Feeling okay?" he asked so that only I would hear. I nodded ever-so-slightly and he relaxed a little.

"Are you guys actually going to show up to practice today?" Iggy inquired staring at us in our general direction.

I glanced at Fang, and by the expression on his face, I assumed he had forgotten about the musical altogether. He regained composure quickly, though, and quirked his mouth up in a sort of half-smile at Iggy.

"Most likely. Has Mrs. Bray noticed our absence much?" he asked.

"Yeah. Particularly you since at least Max has bothered to show up to one practice."

Fang and I laughed in unison, and together the sound really did seem angelic. We smiled at each other and I took his hand under the table. Looking into his eyes, I saw the love that could only be built on centuries spent together. He knew me better than I knew myself, and soon, I would know him in just the same way.

"So Max," Angel began, pulling my gaze from Fang. "Are you excited you got the lead?"

I shrugged slightly, still beaming over my small moment with Fang. "Yeah, I guess so. I didn't really expect the part. I mean, I've never really acted before."

"Actually you—." Fang cut himself off right on time. I stared at him, wide-eyed, not really believing that he almost shared an aspect of one of my past lives to everyone at the table. Especially my sister; she would freak if she found out who I really was.

Fang looked anxiously around at everyone staring at him in expectation of what he had left unsaid. However, instead of trying to come up with some clever save for his trip-up, Fang simply ducked his head low and mumbled, "No, no, never mind."

Iggy stared at him as if he had two head and shook his own head sadly. "You're crazy sometimes, you know that, Fang?"

_Crazy. My Fang. _Crazy?

A tiny, frayed down nerve snapped somewhere inside and my last coherent thoughts were, _Oh God, here comes another episode._ I leaped up from my seat and fisted his shirt in my hands before lurching him towards me across the table. The regular hoots and hollers of the cafeteria died down and flowed into a steady murmur as everyone stopped their conversations to watch the fight unfold.

I shook him gruffly. "How dare you say that about Fang? Take it back!"

Iggy held his hands up in an "I surrender" gesture. "Woah, chill, Max. It was just a joke. You're supposed to laugh."

"I'll be laughing when I see you lying bloody and unconscious on the floor," I growled, my face so near to his I could feel his ragged breathing on me.

The cafeteria exploded in an uproar, goading me on in such a way that they seemed so exceptionally glad to see me pummel Iggy to a pulp. Which they probably were, but still; you get my point.

"Max! Let him go; we're leaving." Fang wrapped his strong arms around my waist and yanked on me in an attempt to get me to let go of Iggy. He succeeded, but the whole time he was dragging me down the aisles to the back door, I was struggling for Iggy and screaming curses at him from the top of my lungs. Finally, after much struggling, Fang managed to get me out of the door. I pounded and pounded on the glass, but Fang ignored me and kept the door shut with that amazing strength of his.

Fang looked around at the now silent and disappointed crowd. "Sorry, she's, uh, on her period. She just acts differently than most others. It's completely normal. Go back to eating, please."

Then he escaped out the door, threw me kicking and screaming over his shoulder, and proceeded to leave the school.

* * *

**Review? :)**


	21. Fancy a Run on the Treetrops, Dear?

**Sorry for the delay :o Haven't really felt like writing much lately :P**

**But I'm here now :)**

* * *

**MPOV**

Fang dragged me kicking and screaming into the woods behind the school. I beat on his back with my fists, and though he didn't show it, I knew it had to of hurt. Fang paid me no mind until we reached the middle of the forest. There, he set me on my feet and grabbed on to my arms before I had the chance to bolt back inside the cafeteria.

"Fang," I wailed. "Let me go!"

"Do you promise you won't attack Iggy?"

I forced myself to take on the appearance of a semi-sane, calm person. Closing my eyes and ceasing my struggle, I nodded vigorously. After a moment of hesitation, Fang released me.

_Three._

_Two._

_One._

I darted towards the school. My legs pumped powerfully underneath me and I welcomed the flood of adrenaline back in my veins with open arms. An unholy grin spread on my face as I felt the full effect of this new speed surge through me.

Fang was behind me. I could sense him the whole way; could_ smell_ how determined he was to catch me. A bubble of laughter escaped me despite the heat of the moment, and I leaned forward, allowing my feet to pick up pace and carry my faster yet through the forest.

"Max!" Fang bellowed.

I checked quickly behind me. He was closer than I had expected. I needed to lose him soon, or he'd catch me. Spotting a tree, I set up the wild goose chase yet to come for Fang.

Right before I crashed head-on into the trunk of a towering tree, I planted my feet, coiled my muscles, and sprang straight up. My body rocketed upwards. A sturdy branch appeared in front of me and I instinctively wrapped my hand around the rough bark, swinging myself up and over it to come to a graceful landing on the top branch of the tree. A stupid grin spread itself across my face as I looked around me at the town, exhilarated.

_Focus, Max_.

I checked below me. Sure enough, Fang was swiftly scaling the tree to reach me.

"Having fun?" I teasingly called to him.

He stopped a second to glare at me. Then, before I knew it, Fang was directly underneath me, reaching for my ankle. I squeaked and sprang away from him without really knowing it.

It went on like that: Me hopping from tree-top to tree-top, Fang chasing close behind. My energy never seemed to drain. I was on an ultimate high up here, feeling the breeze rush through my hair and whip against my skin, the sun kissing my cheeks. I couldn't stop _smiling_.

Fang was far behind me by the time I got close to the edge of the forest. Only a couple more trees, and then I was there and free to maul Iggy in pieces.

I planted myself on one of the solid top branches to recharge my muscles enough to make my jump across the five trees in my path. I coiled into a tight crouch, calculating my next move. After a second I came to the conclusion.

_Now or never._

I sat all the way into my crouch and made to leap. But right before my feet came off the wood, there was an ear-splitting crack. I yelped, and soon I was tumbling through the tree, branches and twigs snapping at any exposed skin I had. My hands flailed out, reaching for a good enough hold on one of the branches to support me and stop my descent. Finally, I came to a terrifying stop, my body ramming into the undergrowth. The breath left me, and I choked, trying to muster up any form of oxygen I could. I was in a freaking _forest_ for God's sake; I was _surrounded_ by oxygen.

I sat myself up, and as soon as I got my breath back, a brick slammed into me, pinning me to the ground and stealing my precious air again. I coughed purposefully in Fang's face, and he scrunched up his face.

"Yuck, Max. Keep your germs to yourself."

"You don't seem to mind when we're swapping spit," I pointed out.

He flushed. "Looks like you're back to your normal self."

"Nope."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Hu—"

I bucked my feet into Fang's chest, knocking him off of me and into a tree.

"Sorry!" I called over my shoulder as I bolted up and weaved my slim body in between the trees.

I made it maybe ten feet before a calloused hand wrapped around my ankle and dragged me to the ground. I squeaked and hit the floor before being flipped over. Fang's face loomed over me, and I swore one eye was twitching.

Suddenly, I started cracking up. My body shook with laughter, and I clutched my stomach. Fang stared at me, confused. But soon enough, I heard his silky voice intertwine with mine as he laughed along. A real, natural grin touched his lips as he beamed down on me. He just seemed to—to—light up.

We settled down after a few minutes, and Fang rested his forehead against mine. He nuzzled my nose affectionately, making me sighed, content. I wrapped my arms around his neck and closed my eyes as his soft lips found mine.

Sparks exploded around me, bright lights flashing behind my lids. A tingling sensation spread through me unlike anything else, and I gladly returned the kiss.

I guess this is what heaven feels like.

* * *

**Yeah, it's short. BUT, next chapter is the third episode. And with the third episode comes the FULL FLEDGE! Dun dun dun!**

**;D Oh yes, it will be exciting. So, I hope you enjoyed this little piece of Fax ;) **

**If you want to see Fax in the next chapter, you better review…**

**Yeah, that was a threat o.o**

**xD Just kidding.**

**Or am I? o.e**

**Review!**

***Shiver* **


	22. The Grand Finale

**Hello again to all my lovely Archangel fans! Who wants to bet that I finish this story by the end of the year?**

**We'll see.**

**Enjoy and R&R(:**

* * *

**MPOV**

Fang pulled away as a pleasant sigh expelled from my lips. My lids fluttered, warmth spreading around me despite the chill that was out in the forest that day. When I opened my eyes, I suddenly understood. I was no longer lying on a soft bed of moss—I was in a memory.

The soft plushness of the Persian rug beneath me kissed my skin. Replacing the trees of the forest were solid wood walls. A fire mere feet away from where I lay was whispering, each crackle from the flames sounding like a musical note.

I kicked a bit at the fur blanket tangled in my bare calves. The sheer material of my silk underskirt was surprisingly warm beneath the calloused hand resting limply on my thigh.

My eyes widened considerably as they traveled the length of the hand all the way to the sleeping form beside me. Struggling up on my elbows, I leaned forward to get a closer inspection of the man in the dying firelight. Despite the dirty blond mop splayed about his chiseled face, I instantly knew who it was—Fang. I could tell just by the expression on his face, the one that couldn't be described because it was just inexplicably, purely _Fang_.

My heart gave a little pang as every pore in my body ached for him. Without thinking about it, I reached out, fingertips tracing lovingly along his strong jawline. The tiniest of sighs escaped his lips, and for a second I thought he had woken up. But then he slipped into a boyish smile, remaining silent. I bit my lip to stifle the giggles threatening to take over and wondered what he was dreaming about.

Flopping back against the assortment of down pillows resting on the oak floor, a grin spread itself across my face as a delicious feeling bubbled up inside me. My eyes flitted to Fang again of their own accord— and this time…I froze, my heart giving a stutter. I realized something then that I failed to see before: Fang was shirtless. Each and every one of his defined muscles tightened ever-so-slowly with the steady rise and fall of his chest. The massive fur blanket we were sharing stopped just below his waist, and I was scared to check what Fang was wearing beneath it—if anything.

Heart hammering in my chest, I glanced down at what I was wearing. Besides the silky slip Fang had trapped beneath his hand, the only other article I was wearing was a white corset; a sliver of my pale stomach showed from the slight gap between the two undergarments.

As the sudden realization of what Fang and I had been doing on the floor just a few moments earlier came to me, a wildfire of heat crept up my cheeks. Shocks of electricity were exploding through me, swirling around in one great motion to animate butterflies in my stomach. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, limp, delicate curls flouncing about my bare shoulders.

I had slept with Fang.

* * *

This time when I opened my eyes, I was back on the chilling forest floor, Fang's curious face hovering over mine. He arched one fine eyebrow up at me, the wind playing with his chocolate locks.

"Did you go into another memory?" he asked.

I bobbed my head a little, but didn't meet his yes. Heat spread from the crown of my head down to my toes as I tried to push my revelation to the back of my mind.

"Well, what did you remember?"

I started to fidget, fingers running absent designs in the snow around me. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," he replied.

"Did we—I mean have we—in the past—" I blushed as I tumbled over the words. God, I was making such a fool of myself.

"Yes?" Fang prompted.

"Did we ever have sex?" My breath caught; no taking it back now.

There was a long pause, and then suddenly Fang was laughing. Brows coming together, I finally looked back to his face. His warm brown eyes were lit up with amusement.

"So that's what you remembered," he remarked.

I flushed again, dreading the reality of his question. As pleasant as the erratic teen pheromones raging through my body made me feel, I hardly wanted to hear about me losing my virginity before I lost it within a time period I could actually remember. "We did do it." I said it as a bland statement, unable to place the emotions racing through me.

Still grinning, he shook his head back and forth, fingertips lightly grazing the shape of my lips. "No, my Gabrielle, we have not made love to each other yet."

A flare of something wildly delightful lit up inside me at the sound of my Archangel name coming from Fang's lips. "Then what did I see?"

Fang got a far-away look in his eyes as he flashed back to that night. An unfamiliar emotion poured into his features.

"That night," he murmured, "we were very close to sleeping together, but decided it would be better to wait instead." A haunted look shadowed his face, all color draining from his skin. "You died the next morning, the sound of your screams waking me up."

The wind whistled around us, flirting with the skin I had exposed. A chilling shiver raced down my back, raising gooseflesh on my skin. Fang remained stonily silent, reliving the horror of my death all over again.

I placed my hands on either side of his face, forcing him to wrench from his thoughts and meet my eyes.

"Hey." My voice was gentle, a secret lullaby. "I'm here with you now, and that's all that matters."

Instantly, his features softened and he leaned down to bounce his lips off the tip of my nose. "And I don't intend to ever let you go."

* * *

That afternoon was the first time in a long time that Fang and I both showed up to musical practice. Mrs. Bray was so shocked, I swear she nearly had a heart-attack.

Everything from there was running smoothly. We were all running through our lines without so much as the slightest hiccup in our memorization. Even Fang and I had our lines down, and we had hardly been practicing. I could already tell the musical was going to be amazing once it was performed.

And despite everything else currently going on in my life at that moment, I was inexplicably happy just being up there, acting out a whole new life with Fang and our new friends. It was as if none of us had problems; we were all so care-free. The only thing that irked me the whole first half of practice was the blond girl hanging all over Fang like nobody's business. I narrowed my eyes, keeping a careful watch on her, but knew deep down that nothing would ever happen between the two.

Around four-thirty, the cast was given a quick break to regroup. Iggy, Angel, Nudge, Gazzy, Fang, and I all clustered ourselves in a group of seats in the auditorium. As we sat, making mindless chit-chat, it suddenly occurred time just how tired I had gotten. My lids were dropping shut, and Fang's hand rubbing absent circles in my back certainly wasn't helping to keep the sleeping spell at bay.

Clucking my tongue on the roof of my mouth, I turned slightly and slapped Fang's hand away. A look of confusion flashing in his eyes, he quirked an eyebrow at me in question.

"You're making me fall asleep," I snapped a bit harsher than necessary.

The corners of his mouth tugged in a frown. "I'm sorry. If you're feeling tired, maybe you should go home and rest."

My eyes narrowed to slits. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

The rest of the group stirred uncomfortably in their seats, gazes shifting between each other. They knew a storm was brewing between us, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew too. But at the moment, I just didn't care, quite frankly. There was a tiny thread stringing across my mind, and it was slowly fraying away with each passing second.

Fang's eyes widened as he leaned back to get a better look at me. "Max, what are you talking about?"

"I bet you're seeing another woman, aren't you?"

_Snap_. One thread was gone. My voice was becoming shrill with irritation, each word that came from Fang's mouth rubbing at me the wrong way.

He shook his head back and forth vigorously, but I could tell he was watching me carefully. "There's only you, Max."

I rocketed up from my seat in a jerky, clumsy motion. It almost sent me toppling over the row in front of me, and I knew it was drawing attention. Nearly everyone in the theatre was watching us now, heads cocked to the side with interest.

"Then explain _her_," I spat, shoving a quavering finger towards the direction of the blond girl I had noticed earlier. Shock flashed through her eyes as she glanced back and forth between me and her curiously confused friends.

Fang's expression didn't change; his eyes never wavered from mine. "Brigid?"

_Snap_. I knew there wasn't much time left before the connection between the thread broke.

"You know her name?" I screeched, sending a trademark death glare towards Fang.

He gradually began to stand, palms out as if to say he meant no harm. I whammed my back up against the seats behind me, trying to put as much space between the two of us.

"A lot of people know Brigid," he drawled, eyes following me warily. The web must have been letting him on to the fact that I was close to losing it.

"Oh, of course!" I said sarcastically, throwing my hands in the air.

Fang took a step closer, lowering his voice so that only I could hear him. "Max, you're going to bloom here in a second if you don't calm down."

Biting the inside of my cheek, I pushed hard against his chest, forcing him to stumble back. "Don't tell me what to do!"

"Max—"

"Ms. Ride, Mr. Xavier, are we having a problem over there, or are you two just penciling in an impromptu practice session?"

I whipped around and saw Mrs. Bray paying careful attention to us from across the auditorium. Her mass of curly black hair was escaping from the tight bun she had put it in that morning, but she still held an air of authority as she stared me down. The rational part of me told me to back down then and there; tell Mrs. Bray that it was all okay, take Fang into my arms, and apologize.

Unfortunately for Mrs. Bray, I wasn't feeling very rational that day.

"Hold your tongue," I growled, venom sinking into my tone. My voice began to grow considerably, the fullness of it swelling around everyone and forcing them to shrink back. I saw them now, scrunching down in their seats and beginning to avert their eyes.

Mrs. Bray seemed taken aback, her jaw slackening the slightest bit. Fang's arm snaked around my waist, trying to tug me away from the scene, but I jerked out of his grasp instantly.

"Young lady, I am your authority. You will treat me with some respect, or I will have you suspended from this school so fast it'll make your head spin."

A buzzing sound started up in my ears; my vision was fading in and out. "No," I roared. "You answer to me, you pathetic human." My skin was tingling with a new-found power I had never experienced before. "_I _am _your_ authority now!"

"Max," Fang breathed in my ear. "Rein it in _now_."

_Snap._

Suddenly, my vision turned black. Stars were exploding behind my vision, and somewhere in the back of my mind someone was letting out a gut-wrenching scream. By the raw feeling in my throat, I couldn't help but feel like I was the one emitting the awful sound.

A slow fire started up inside me, but no matter how much it blazed, it never hurt me. It grew and grew, lapping over every inch of my body until I was smothered with the warm glow. My skin tingled as my screams spiraled up higher and higher, reaching a pitch I never knew was humanly possible.

In one big surge, I felt my spine bend all the way back before jerking back up. My limbs felt like they were being twisted in all different directions, as if I had no control over them in any way. Splotches of vision were coming back to me just as the pain began to erupt.

At the back of my mind, I was slightly aware of watching Fang drag me out of the theatre, images spinning around of students clamping their hands down over their ears to shut out the shrieks still scraping themselves out from the base of my throat.

I choked slightly as I felt the first of my bones begin to break. One by one, starting from the tips of my fingers, my bones were breaking, only to be mended a second later. I gurgled through my screams, noting that Fang had deposited me in the back seat of his car.

"Don't worry, my Gabrielle. I'm going to help you through this."

Squeezing my eyes shut, the first tears slithered down my cheeks. They kept coming as my legs began to break, snapping as if they were nothing but twigs. I screamed louder and louder, even though it hurt like all heck, and pounded my fist into the upholstery. Finally, my ankles gave a sickening crack, and there was one huge wave that snapped all the miniscule bones in my feet.

Then it all stopped.

Heaving and gagging, I dug my nails into the seat, creating dimples in the leather. The pain was slowly receding, seeping out of me with the steady stream of tears coming down my cheeks. After a few more gasping breaths, I allowed for my eyes to fling open.

Fang was gazing at me through the rear-view mirror, looking nothing but worried out of his mind. For my sake, he tried to smile at me. Even though every part of me felt like I had been hit by a train, I had enough strength left inside to growl at him, the sound coming out feral.

Frowning, Fang looked back towards the road. He was thinking something, but I couldn't tell what it was exactly. At that moment, a cloud of thick fog began swirling around in my mind, smearing away all common sense. My nails sharpened to the point of mimicking a knife's sharp blade; they seared right through the tough beige leather, piercing into the plush stuffing.

The growl bloomed from the base of my neck, transforming itself into a snarl as I popped straight up. As the fog thickened around all coherent thoughts, I felt the first tickings of the time-bomb within me.

_One_. A bark shoved its way out of me.

_Two._ My teeth clamped down.

_Three_. My lips peeled back.

"Max…," Fang started slowly, sensing the turmoil inside me through the tight invisible web attached to both of us.

_Four. _The corners of my lips twisted up cruelly.

_Five. _A bitter-sweet gaze glazed over my usually hard brown eyes.

"We're here."

_Six. _Fang pulled the car into a parking space set adjacent to a long row of bright orange garages. Opening up his door, he launched out and raced towards the garage directly in front of us.

_Seven_. My muscles coiled up, ready to spring.

_Eight._ Fang popped in and out of the now-open garage, starting a strong gait towards me. My door was opened and I was being helped out of the car. A strong hand was wrapped tightly around mine, a familiar spark resting there that pulled me along towards the cement walls of the garage.

_Nine. _We entered the garage and I strutted forward to the center of the room, patiently waiting for the loud bang that would follow Fang closing the garage.

_Ten_. The bang reverberated through the floor, rumbling beneath my feet. I whirled around, a wild rage showing in my far-too-dilated pupils. The second Fang turned around, I pounced on him, latching on and tackling him to cold, hard ground beneath us.

Air came out of Fang with a huff, and I saw the surprise flash in his eyes. Quickly rebounding, he locked out his arms, keeping me at a distance that was safe from my snapping teeth. A never-ending growl was rolling out of me, as if an animal had crawled inside me and took control.

Abruptly, Fang wrapped his strong arms around me in a vice-like grip, restricting all my movements in a bear hug. Lifting us up from the ground, he dragged me, kicking and screaming, across the room towards a cage fit for a small jungle cat. The black, wrought-iron door was already open, an invitation for anyone to walk on in.

I, on the other hand, was tossed in it.

My back slapped against the shockingly cold metal, a cry escaping me upon impact. Before I had any time to react, Fang slammed the cage shut, locked it, and staggered backwards. The look on his face told me that he hated seeing me like this, but I couldn't seem to bring myself to stop.

As Fang took a seat on the ground a good distance away from the cage, I started slamming myself against the bars trying to get them to budge. But no matter how hard I tried, there was no relief from their stony grip. I screamed and clawed and kicked and thrashed, all for nothing but a plethora of scrapes and bruises on my skin.

After what had to have been twenty minutes, the cloud in my head began to lift. My movements were gradually slowing as I regained control over my instincts. I mentally breathed a sigh of relief, momentarily glad that I no longer had to ram myself into the biting bars.

The key word in that sentence, dear readers, was 'momentarily.' Because seconds after I had calmed down, breathing heavily in one of the back corners of the cage, Fang got up from his position at the floor and started filling a bathtub with the gallons of water resting around it. I opened my mouth to ask him what exactly he was planning when the most gut-wrenching scream filled the room; and it just so happened to have come directly from me.

I dropped to my knees, mouth wide open, eyes squeezed shut, just as the sickening feeling of my skull being pried open tore through my head. My hands flew up to clutch at my head, as if to keep it from falling apart all together.

Inch by agonizing inch, my skin lit on fire. It felt like someone was holding scalding irons all over my body, refusing to let go. I was burning, smoldering, with no way to get it to stop. I was helpless, and there was not a doubt in my mind that I was going to burn to death from the inside out.

Someone was tugging on me then. The hot sparks that erupted when Fang touched me only intensified the bloody heat racing over my skin, causing tears to slip down my cheeks. I choked on my screams, drowning in the fire that consumed my body.

Abruptly, the heat faded to a dull hum in the background. It was a similar experience to when you're listening to music through a radio and you cover one of the speakers; the sound is instantly muffled. And just like the music, my heat was seemingly muffled.

The cool, icy embrace of water wrapped around me, kissed against my closed lids, and whispered against my lips. I was submerged in it, I realized, and even though I could feel my lungs bursting from the lack of oxygen, I couldn't seem to want to bring myself up. Everything was muted under the inky abyss of the water, the horror of what my life had been the past hour or so put on pause.

Fang had other plans, though. Placing his firm grip under my arms, he tugged me up towards the surface so that at least my nose stuck out. I was glad he wanted me to live more than I had a minute ago. The slight pressure of his lips bounced off the top of my head.

"Better?" His voice was the best remedy of all to my aching head, even if it was laced heavily with concern.

I bobbed my head in the water as my own way of saying yes. My throat was so raw, I didn't think I'd be able to speak again for a week. Fang's gentle fingers came up to massage a bit at my shoulders.

"It'll all end soon."

My heart pinched at those words, dreading what inhumane version of pain that would take form within me this time. But as soon as I cursed the world around me, I discovered that I was wrong. More wrong than I had ever been in my entire life.

The first of the kisses was what opened my eyes for the first time since I felt the crack in my skull. Eyes snapping wide, I saw that the garage was filled with a million little golden dots. They illuminated the dark room with a soft, supple glow. My lips parted in awe as I watched them all float towards me.

Every time a new one would land on me, it sucked a bit of the pain out of me, replacing it with the most delicious feeling in the world. I was filled with the sense of acceptance, of power, of just pure, effervescent goodness as the golden dots covered the expanse of my body. They even ducked beneath the still surface of the water to land on the whole of me that was submerged.

In what seemed like a time far too short, the tiny little dots soaked themselves into my skin. Surprisingly, I wasn't afraid. It all felt vaguely familiar and so, so right.

The last dot, one right about my heart, ducked under my skin, and I was suddenly surged upward, feeling as light as a feather. I gasped in a quiet, shuddering breath, and then I was dropped back in the water—

And plunged into a sea of memories.

Fang twirling me around, a look of pure joy on my face. I can tell just by the shine in his eyes that he was biting back a gleeful laugh. There were people all around us, but I had never felt so close to him.

My heel caught on the cobblestone beneath us, sending me tumbling into Fang. Bursting out into laughter, we toppled to the ground in a pile of heavy skirts and precariously curled raven hair. A soft grin on his face, Fang brushed my curls away and leaned in for a kiss. My heart skipped a beat…

My ears were pounding with the staggering beat of my heart. As I stared into the black, lifeless eyes of the cast-down Michael, I couldn't help but feel afraid. The palms of my hands started to sweat as my eyes darted around the prairie I found myself in. Running was not an option though—I had not fledged yet, so he'd easily be able to catch me.

As the wheat plants swayed around my knees, I couldn't help but identify the scene with the second time I had died. It was the first memory to come back to me this time—I could still feel the pitchfork piercing into me.

Shuddering, I stumbled a step back, wishing Metatron was with me. As if reading my thoughts, Michael took a step towards me, lips curling up into a blasphemous smirk.

"Your precious Metatron has been detained. He won't be able to help you this time," he said cheerily. From inside his dark jacket, he produced a sword. It had the intricate hilt of our sacred Archangel swords.

My eyes widened. "You've managed to retain that? After all of these years?"

Winking, he held it out towards me for me to admire. "Astounding, no? It's even harder to hold on to it when you're a_ demon_ from _Hell._" At that very moment, his pearly-white fangs came down to dimple his bottom lip, eyes flashing dangerously.

I flinched as if he had slapped me. "I did what was required of me, Michael. You have only yourself to blame."

"You realize," he began thoughtfully, "that you say that every time I'm about to kill you."

Without another word, he lunged towards me, the sword plunging deep inside my stomach as a scream was ripped from the base of my throat…

I was huffing and puffing, fists clenching. My eyes were narrowed into slits as I tried to compose myself. I whirled around, trying to find my target, but he was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Raphael appeared in front of me, grinning manically.

Grunting, I kicked my leg out without warning, sweeping Raphael to the ground. He moaned upon impact, rolling around slightly and clutching at his blond mess of hair.

Trying hard to stifle my grin, I bent down beside him, tucking my sword back inside the belt attached to my armor. "Did you hit your head?"

He glared at my teasing tone. "Thanks to you."

I let my smile come through then. "Why, you're very welcome."

Batting his piercing green eyes at me with a mixture of hatred and respect, he held out his hand for me to help him up…

Dozens and dozens of memories flooded through me, some flashing by too fast for me to even register. So many faces, most of which I didn't recognize at all, and some I found vaguely familiar, though I couldn't place my finger on them.

Life after life. It was dizzying trying to grasp that this was me—I had lived all of those scenes; I had known all those people. I had loved and lost and died more times than you could count on both hands.

I wouldn't be able to tell you how long I sat there in the bathtub reliving memories for probably the hundredth time. Eventually, though, the pictures faded to black, and my eyes snapped open. Fang was still rubbing circles into my back behind me, and I was still resting under the water. Lifting my hands up, I saw my fingers resembled raisins.

A shaky sigh escaped me as I sat up fully in the water, revealing my mouth and neck. I turned around, water sloshing over the edges, and looked Fang in the eyes.

"We were two crazy kids," I said simply, never leaving his gaze.

The corners of his eyes worked into themselves into wrinkles as he smiled, the only sign of how much he had seen in his lifetime. He threaded his rough, calloused hands through my sopping, tangled hair, and brought our foreheads together. "I wouldn't have had it any other way."

"Neither would I." My mouth twitched violently at the corners as I struggled to stifle my grin.

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**Wooooah, this will definitely go down in history as one of the longest fanfic chapters I've written. Blah, it'd be a lie to say I didn't enjoy it, though.**

**R&R if you want me to finish this story by the new year ;)**

***Shiver***


	23. New Appearances

**Seeee? I told you guys I'd try to finish this story! Every other Fanfiction update of mine will be for this story, so keep your eyes trained.**

**As always, Enjoy(:**

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**MPOV**

Considering my sopping state after I got out of the bathtub, Fang and I had to put our next order of business on hold. After I was wrapped firmly inside Fang's jacket, the heater in the car was cranked up and we drove in a peaceful silence towards my home. The lights were all off when we pulled into the cracking driveway; our path up to the door was illuminated by the jaded stars just beginning to peek out from within the twilight sky.

"Where's Ella?" Fang asked as we passed the threshold into the house. Though it was dark inside, it was no trouble for my newly-enhanced eyes to zero-in on the light switch.

"With Iggy or J.J most likely," I said, reaching for the light.

Lightning-fast, his long fingers snaked out and caught my hand mid-air. I peered up at him, the flower of a question blooming on my lips, but he was already answering my thoughts.

"Do we really need to waste the energy?" His lips quirked up in a charming half-smile that made my heart pang.

My damp hair brushed smoothly across the supple skin on my face as I shook my head to and fro. I intertwined our fingers through the grip we already held and started towards the run-down carpet of the small staircase leading to my bedroom. Fang's grip squeezed once before letting go just as the door swung open to the extremely plain beige walls of my bedroom.

"You can wait here while I change," I offered, nudging my head in the direction of the mass of warm chocolate-brown blankets piled on my mattress.

Fang didn't respond as I turned my back to him and began rummaging through my narrow, exposed closet for something dry to wear. In the end, I selected a pair of loose-fitting black sweatpants and my favorite cream pullover. A small, content smile spread across my face as I scampered quickly from the room and locked myself in the claustrophobic bathroom at the end of the hall. There was a feeling of pure warmth spreading its way inside me as I tugged on the comforting sweats. For the first time in a long while, I felt absolutely sure about where my life was heading; because even though Fang and I are still clueless as to what life planned to throw at us in the upcoming weeks, we were positive we'd have each other stitched to our side through it all. That was all the assurance I needed.

Yanking the plush sweater over my damp body felt heavenly, all the little miniscule fibers soaking up the last of the wet chill clinging to my skin. My head popped out from the material and I shook like a wet dog. From beneath the matted bangs hovering above my eyes, I met my exhilarated gaze in the mirror.

Least to say, I hardly recognized the person gawking back at me.

I had grown at least two inches taller, along with the length of my now caramel-highlighted hair curling slightly at my waist. My cheekbones seemed to have been raised, becoming more defined by a rosy, natural rouge that I had no recollection of possessing. When I plopped my hands down on my waist, I couldn't help but notice how much more defined the curve of my waist was. My eyes widened to the size of saucers as my fuller lips parted in shock.

Ripping open the door, I charged frantically down the hall to my room where Fang was lying lazily on the bed, staring fondly up at the ceiling. He was so blissfully oblivious to the storm that was about to hit him.

"What is this?" I demanded.

His eyebrows rising ever-so-slightly, he raised himself up just enough to get a good look at me. "What is what?"

"This!" After a full three-sixty turn, I jabbed a finger in his direction. "Never did you ever say my appearance would change along with the bloom."

"Are you not pleased by your transformation?" he inquired, seeming surprised.

I hesitated, turning to stare at my reflection in the small looking glass I had hanging on my wall. "It's not that I don't like it," I began. It was the truth—despite the shock that it brought with it, the new me was actually quite pretty. No longer would I be average when I walked down the halls; I would snap necks with my new-found beauty. But still….

"Then what is it?"

I gnawed on my plump lower lip, brown eyes scanning over every inch of my new body. "It's just…what was wrong with the old me?" My voice was weaker than I had intended, showcasing my vulnerability.

Emitting a soft, empathetic noise, Fang unfurled to his feet and gathered me into one big bear hug from behind. Sighing, I twisted in his tender grasp and wrapped my arms around his broad, sinewy chest, tugging him tight against me.

"Nothing was wrong with you," he murmured into a mass of my caramelized curls. "You were more beautiful than a full moon on a clear, summer's night. But this is the appearance of an Archangel, which is what you are now."

I laughed shortly and got on my tip-toes to place my lips at his ear. "That was so cheesy."

Arms tightening around my waist, he groaned. "Gabrielle, Gabrielle, what will I do with you?"

My mouth opened for a witty comeback, but all thoughts immediately flew out the window as Fang's lips found mine. I moaned against his mouth, my head tilting to the side of its own accord in order to deepen the kiss. Within seconds my fingers became entangled in his dark locks as I rose slowly to the tips of my toes. Even with the extra two inches my new body provided me, Fang still towered over me.

Much too soon for my liking, Fang pulled back, both of us breathing heavily. I couldn't help the disappointed look that shadowed over for my face for a second, and though I was ashamed of it the instant it appeared, I loved sweet, lingering peck on the lips it earned me.

"We have many years to continue our love, but only a few hours to draw out our plan," he breathed.

I sighed, but couldn't help but agree with him. It was imperative that we sorted out our next course of action as soon as possible. As it stood right now, we were simply sitting ducks for the moment when Michael would sneak up on us and take our lives yet again.

I had just gotten Metatron back; I wasn't ready to leave him so soon.

Taking Fang's hand, I lead him dutifully over to the bed where we sat cross-legged across from each other. For a long, stretching moment we both just gazed at each other. Neither of us seemed to know where to start. From what I gathered from my new-found memories, though, was one important piece of information.

"We need to find the others," I commented solemnly.

Fang's brows knitted together. "You mean the other Archangels?" I nodded. "It could take months for us to track them all down, though."

"I know, I know, but think about it: every time we are apart, we are most vulnerable," I explained. "The Archangels were created together, so that we could conquer together."

He began to bob his head slowly, realization beginning to dawn on him. "We were never made to be apart from each other."

"Precisely."

"But how do we even begin to find them?"

I allowed for a heavy breath to expel from my lips. "Well, how did we usually find them?"

Fang shrugged. "I'm not quite sure there's an answer to pinpoint on. We all just sort of came together and _knew_. But for the past couple lives…." He shook his head. "I haven't been able to sense them."

Fear stroked through me. "You don't think they're truly dead, do you?"

"No. Ever since you cast Michael down, he has been unable to perform the ritual that sends us back to our original plane."

"Then how come we can't sense them?" I questioned.

"I have no idea, unless…," he trailed off, starring directly into my eyes.

"Unless what?"

"There's a small possibility we may be becoming disconnected from Our Lady."

"What?" I demanded, chest constricting.

Fang squeezed my hand. "Don't freak out. It merely becomes harder for her to keep tabs on us each time we die. We have passed through this earth so many times, I do not blame her for accidentally letting us slip under her radar for a second."

I gulped, fidgeting with the hem of my pullover. "So how do we get back on her radar?"

"There is a ritual I'm aware of that can call her towards us," he started slowly.

"Let's do it, then. Immediately." I started to rise, but Fang's strong grasp held me in place.

"Max, it's not that simple. Not only is it going to be extremely hard to pry the ritual out of the one I know who has it, but it's only supposed to be used for extreme cases."

"Is this not an extreme case, Fang?" I asked seriously. "If we can get Our Lady to help us uncover the identities of the other Archangels, then this cycle will end. She can accept her children back home."

We gazed at each other for a long period of time. Finally, I noticed Fang's shoulders slump as he relented against my will.

"Fine. Let's go meet my mother."

"Your mother?" I inquired, bewildered. "Shouldn't we be conversing with the one who knows the ritual?"

"She is the one who knows the ritual."

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**I apologize for the shortness, but this was more of a filler chapter than anything. More action to come later!**  
**R&R(:**

***Shiver***


	24. Meeting the Mother

**To be completely honest, I thought that "someday" wasn't actually a real word my entire life up until writing this chapter. I always thought you needed a space between the two.**

**Awkward.**

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**MPOV**

The trip to Fang's manor was a bit longer than I had anticipated. One of the perks about living in a small town was that everything as nice and in reach. Fang's house, however, was built on the very outskirts of town, near the end of the forest. By the time we were clomping up the cobblestone pathway, chapping hands shoved deep in our pockets, the moon was a glowing bright contrast against the midnight sky. Vaguely, I considered calling Ella to make positive she was fairing alright, but at the last second, I decided against it. She was only a few months younger than me, after all; she could handle herself.

Swinging the door open wide, Fang waved me inside the brightly-lit home. The moment I shuffled over the threshold, I was embraced in a plethora of warm, delicious smells. When the scent of vanilla wafted up to meet me, I nearly moaned. Despite the lack of furniture in the home, there was a hefty amount of noise coming from the kitchen. If I shut my eyes, I could almost believe that I was a little kid again, tramping inside from playing in the snow, my mother scolding me for getting the floors all wet while the sauce bubbled over on the stove behind her.

A spark ignited on my cheek, causing my lids to flutter open. Fang was standing in front of me, a pleasant look dancing in his eyes.

"Ready?" he asked, holding out his olive-toned hand.

Taking his hand in a strong, firm grip, my lips stretched into a broad smile. "Lead the way."

Without further ado, Fang brought me through the barren living room into the wide-open kitchen. Standing in the center of what had to be the only furnished room in the house was a tall, olive-toned woman with dark raven hair tumbling in voluptuous curls over her shoulders. She wielded a knife confidently in her right hand as she chopped vigorously at the various vegetables scattered about the island's granite countertop.

"Fang, dear, you've got to try and come home sooner. It's nearly eight-thirty!" Her voice was like warm vanilla sugar, comforting in a way that I had recently forgotten.

Amusement twinkled within the rich tones of Fang's opaque eyes. "Yes, mother."

She whirled around to rinse her knife in the stainless steel sink, a sigh dancing on her tongue. "I hope stir-fry is okay for dinner; it was all I could come up with. Grocery shopping tomorrow, I suppose. Oh!" Wiping the dripping knife on a dishcloth draped over her shoulder, she began to turn around. "I nearly forgot to ask; how is—"

As Fang's mother completed her turn ad tilted her face up to meet us, her sentence was suddenly cut off. Awe flooded into her features and the knife slipped from her usually confident grasp to clatter noisily on the countertop. "—Max," she finished.

Not another word was spoken before she was rushing at me and gathering me into a bear-hug. I tentatively squeezed her back, the heavenly scent of fresh-baked goods wafting up to meet me. My eyes shut, a sigh escaping my lips, and I reveled in the moment. It was one I was going to make absolutely sure that I wouldn't forget: the day I met Fang's mother.

The two of us broke away at the same time, both of us beaming. "It's so great to finally meet you!" she gushed. "Fang would always keep you to himself." A tinkling laugh.

I grinned, the new endless sea of memories I had resurfacing.

"_Metatron, let me meet your mother. You praise her so highly."_

_He twisted a lock of my pale blond hair around his finger absently, blue eyes drunk with all that was me. "Someday, my love. Someday."_

"Yes, that does sound familiar," I murmured, amused.

"Excuse me for not wanting to share such a beautiful treasure." Fang wound an arm around my waist and gently drew me into him, his words a warm tease at my ear.

My cheeks were scalding hot as I jabbed an elbow into his side. I laid my head lightly against his shoulder, the tremors of his rumbling laughter curling up to tickle me. Fang's mother clucked her tongue on the roof of her mouth and bustled back over to the sizzling pan on the stove with a wooden spoon wielded tightly in her grasp.

"You two are just too cute," she commented. If it was possible to get redder, I would have. "Fang, set the table, please. I'll be finished in five minutes."

"Sure thing." Taking a firm grasp of my hand, Fang lightly tugged me off towards the direction of a grandiose high-arched entryway. The moment we passed under the elegant architecture, I was softly wrapped up inside a room that had seen too many memories to count. Pictures as old as all my lives added together hung precariously on warm chocolate paint, the glorious scenes of angels both weeping and praising in the magnificent gardens seeming to greet me with loving, feather-light hands. Each splatter of pain on the looming walls murmured with past conversations held just within the confines of this room; perhaps even on the cherry oak, meticulously carved table that consumed most of the plush, pillow-like carpet beneath my sock-clad feet. In this room, shadows seemed nonexistent, the intricate chandelier swinging lightly from the domed ceiling burning through all the darkness and radiating nothing but soft grins and warbling laughter.

I tilted my head up to face Fang, my eyes filled to the very brim with wonder. The slight curve of his mouth told me he had been expecting such a reaction, but I couldn't help it. I had to know what was lying beneath the history of this room.

"What is it?" I asked, voice hardly above a whisper.

He didn't respond at first, merely released his hold on my hand and sauntered over to a timelessly elegant china cabinet set into one of the corners of the room. Reaching to the top of it, his fingers sought a key that he promptly used to unlock the cabinet's mysteries. Began carefully plucking dishes from within.

My eyes roamed hungrily about, soaking in as much of the room as they could with my newly enhanced vision. The dust motes twirling around to a song beautifully unheard; the elegant, precisely woven threads of the high-backed chairs' cushions. "I mean, what is this feeling I have?"

There was a pulse in the web as I felt Fang probe around to sense what exactly that feeling was. It was more difficult for him to access my mind now, he explained to me in the car. Now that my memories were back, I unconsciously threw up walls as to not let Fang wiggle his way in whenever he pleased. I peeled my guard back with ease now, allowing the gentle wisp of his own mind drift into my own.

"Mmm," Fang murmured. The porcelain plates kissed the smooth wood of the table. "That feeling. Yes, I get that same sense every time I step foot in here."

"But why?"

He placed the last dish down in its proper spot and stroked the wood of the table adoringly. "I asked my mother once and she told me it all went back to this table. I faintly remember my mother spending a large amount of money during the seventeenth century to have it made for her. In the legend she tells me, she had a witch enchant the table." The sentence died off with the shrug of one of his broad shoulders.

My shoulders, however, tensed up all over. "Witch?"

Fang arched an eyebrow at me. "You didn't think we were the only mythical creatures that exist on earth, did you?"

I gaped at him, mind racing. Not once in all my memories did I recall anything about _witches_. My tongue scrambled to form words, but nothing quite came out. Rumbling out a chuckle, Fang came up behind me and began massaging the kinks out of my shoulders. With each spark that sprouted from his fingers, more tension melted away into the warmth radiating off of him. A flush spread through me at his proximity, both comforting and enthralling at the same time.

"I'm just kidding, my Gabrielle. My mother may believe in witches, but I truly don't. It is my thought that there are just some people who have been blessed with the grace of Our Lady and use society's conception to their advantage."

My head nodded slowly, taking it all in. "Is that what your mother is? Someone blessed by Our Lady? I don't recall you ever explaining that to me."

"I never really found it necessary to tell you, but yes, my mother has been blessed by Our Lady. She doesn't have any higher….powers, per se; just the power of knowing. She comes back to Earth with us every time, understanding completely what her job is."

"What's her job?"

"To make positive that I grow up being aware of who I am and what I have to do—which would be to find you," he explained.

"Taking care of my son isn't my only duty," interjected Fang's mother. She came bustling in with three dishes balanced on her arms. I immediately sprang forward to help her arrange them on the table as she continued to speak. "I keep Our Lady informed and in reach, though we do not speak often."

"Why not?" My brows furrowed slightly.

"It's an extremely long ritual that takes almost all energy out of me."

I met eyes with Fang across the room and suddenly the guilt was almost palpable between us. But as Fang shed his walls away, I sensed what he was thinking: _It's the only way._

"I actually wanted to speak to you—" Fang began, taking a step forward. His mother waved in a manner that cinched his sentence shut.

"Talk later. Let's eat first. I want some wine in me first if we are to discuss matters of importance."

I tried to stifle my grin, but failed miserably. Fang rolled his eyes dramatically beside me, heaving a generous sigh. A shock jolted up my arm as he tapped the back of my hand twice; it was a habit we picked up centuries ago that told the other to be attentive. In this case, however, all he wanted was for me to sit in the chair he was patiently pulling out of me. It was no question for me to dutifully comply with his wordless gesture, the high back of the chair curving and molding itself into the arch of my back. After Fang was sure I was comfortably situated at the table, he rounded his mother and took his own seat.

The food was passed out without haste, mindless chatter being exchanged between the three of us about our "regular" lives; you know, outside of being Archangels. Often I'd catch myself staring at one of the new caramel strands that glinted smoothly against the warm glow of the chandelier. It was so strange, this new me, that I couldn't even begin to imagine ever getting used to seeing it, let along living in it. Everything seemed simpler in this body, an undercurrent of power and strength humming beneath my skin. Even just lifting a forkful of pasta felt strange—off balance almost. The thought made my nose crinkle as Fang's mother set a slice of tiramisu pie in front of me, a new clean fork sticking straight up inside the chocolate delicacy.

"Alright," she sighed, settling back into the embrace of her chair. Her fork took a small piece of dessert to her mouth, and she savored it for a minute before continuing. "What is it that you two needed to tell me?"

Nerves running on hyper-wire, I plucked a chocolate shaving from the surface of my pie and allowed for it to melt on my tongue, dancing across my taste buds. Fang sipped lightly on what appeared to be coffee, the crease on his forehead telling me he was trying his hardest to figure out how to set his words. I averted my eyes away from his chiseled face to instead concentrate on my plate like it was the most interesting thing in the world. The air in the room went stale.

"Mother, we have a huge favor to ask of you."

"Yes?" She was wary, defenses being throw up. I could already tell she was an intelligent woman.

"We need you to perform the ritual for us."

I felt her bristle through the air. "Hold your tongue, Metatron, _carus__angelus_. The task you plead is larger than what I'm willing to accept."

My wide brown eyes flickered up to Fang's tight-lipped gaze and I probed a comforting touch to the outer edges of the web; a soft question, asking for permission. He gave a subtle nod back, so I trekked forward before every ounce of my courage slipped away.

"Mrs. Xavier—"

"Sarah," she interrupted gently, though the muscles in her face were strained. "My true name, Gabrielle."

I nodded, a small smile softening my features. "Sarah, we would never expect you to comply with our request unless it was of dire importance. Unfortunately, we have found ourselves in a tourniquet that only Our Lady will be able to get us out of. It is imperative we speak with her."

Sarah emitted a tiny moan. "_P__uer meus_, what trouble are you waist-deep in now?"

"The usual near-death obstacles," Fang replied, lips twitching. "Nothing to pay a mind about."

After a lengthy pause that seemed to stretch its way through the entire house, a fluttery sort of sigh suspended itself in the air.

"I will do what is asked of me, children; I have faith you had pure reasons behind your request." A pause; a sip of blood-red wine that slipped down her in one visible gulp. "When will we commence?"

Fang shared a glance, a glimmer of hope sparkling between us. My heart fluttered with the excitement of hummingbirds' wings.

"Well," my voice was weaker than I would have liked, breathless in the enormity of the room. "I believe proper robes are in order, and then as soon as possible, I suppose." Flicked a curious look to Fang. "You have a keep on them, no?"

Nodding thoughtfully, he sipped at his steaming black liquid. The tendrils of heat wrapped about the hardened lines of his face, as if outlining his Grecian beauty. For one head-quirking moment, I had the mad thought that I might look as flawless as him now that I had fledged. I squandered it instantly, though—he was a flawless no one, on heaven or earth, could obtain.

"Let us dress now, then. The sooner we talk to Our Lady, the better." Fang stood in his chair, the grand piece wobbling unsteadily against the carpet. An outstretched hand in my direction. If I listened close enough, I could hear the pulse beating just under the vulnerable skin of his wrist.

Lashes fluttering me out of my thoughts, I gripped his offered hand, enjoying the strong, honey-warm flush spreading through me. But even though that syrup tried its best to supply a remedy to my nerves, butterflies still ran rampant inside me. I swallowed and sent up a silent prayer. To think Our Lady would be standing in front of me soon…well, it was enough to make anyone heady.

"Lead the way, Metatron."

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**Hope you all enjoyed(:**


	25. Golden Notes

**Hey guys. My apologies for the two and a half month absence, but you know, school and stuff. Yaaay.  
**

**Anywhosies, this chapter may be short, but that's because it's more of a filler than anything. Plus, next chapter will have plenty of FAX for you all to read up on.  
**

**Enjoy!**

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**MPOV**

The celebratory robes were precisely as I had remembered them when all us Archangels first received them in our first life. When we had first been bequeathed with them, none of us ever thought we would have to use them in order to channel Our Lady, and so it was conceded to lay them to rest inside the confines of an ancient, hand-carved trunk latched shut with a wrought iron lock. After a quick turn of a key, the precious garment was removed from the chest's clutches and returned to its rightful owner.

My robe hung delicately over my arms then, feeling as luxuriously smooth as freshly spun silk. I stood stark-naked in one of the many bare rooms tucked away in the massive house, the air around me thick and dark even with my newly developed eyesight. Calm and alert was my breathing cycle; the threads woven into the fabric were alight with electricity that jumped off the material and sprawled across my nerves. Without another moment of hesitation, I undid its delicate lace buttons and carefully stepped inside.

Like a river of silk, the robe melted over my skin, kissing and hugging at every one of my newly-carved curves. A feeling of peaceful bliss erupted deep inside me, drawing out a sharp gasp of pleasant surprise. The burst of power that bloomed inside me surpassed anything I had ever experienced before, spilling over any weakness I may have possessed and patching it up with fragile golden threads. _Pure_ whispered past my mind and I knew without a doubt that that was exactly what I was feeling.

As I stood there reveling in these blissful sensations, a knock was rapped against the door. Through a tug in the web, I was instantly keyed into Fang's presence on the other side. Grinning, I gathered up my skirts and glided across the room to swing open the door.

A giggle sprung past my lips before I could stop it, though my hand clamped down over my mouth in an attempt.

Fang sliced me a glare. "Don't say anything. This was the fashion back then."

"What is there to say? You look _stunning_," I drawled.

When Fang had first tugged out the black material of his robe from the trunk, I had presumed it would be some sort of suit fashioned with classic ornaments. I was completely wrong. Rolling his eyes, this boy before me was wearing the exact same robe as me, minus the petticoat that frothed from beneath my skirt. Though it molded into the creases of his muscles perfectly, the midnight robe was cut exactly like a dress, and it certainly wore that way. He looked ridiculous.

Crossing his arms, Fang struggled to keep a smile from crawling up his lips. "Are you done yet?"

"I don't know," I replied seriously. "That robe is pretty sexy."

Though his chest trembled with silent laughter, he refused to further fuel my fire. Taking my hand in his, he merely shook his head and began leading me down the stairs. I was trying hard to calm my nervous giggles down, biting the inside of my cheek and keeping my eyes focused in front of me. Now, with the meeting of Our Lady so close, butterflies had roused in my stomach with heartbeats thrumming as fast as their wings.

_Calm down,_ I chanted to myself. It had to have been the twentieth time I thought it.

My mind was whirring with anticipation, nerves short-circuiting. What if she thought we were failures for calling upon her? And if we haven't lived up to her expectations? Would we be sent back up to Heaven? Or damned, expelled down to the pits of Hell? I heard stories about Hell form some of the demons that I killed over the years. It's not that often one of them creeps up onto Earth, but when they did, they came with a vengeance that terrified me. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it'd be like to live in the very cesspool that created them.

Fang gave my hand a tight squeeze as we walked towards the barren living room, sensing my agitation through the web. I couldn't help but wonder if he had the same concerns that clutched me with fear. I vaguely remember long, long ago Fang telling me a story of Our Lady; he was the only one who remembered her from when we still resided in heaven. His memory was strong like that. Surely Fang didn't get as nervous as I did. But I guess that's why we were so good together: he was a strong, steady ox to my spooked cat.

Kneeling on the floor with lavender robes pooling about her, Fang's mother lifted her head up to smile weakly at us. Her arms raised, beckoning for us to come stand next to her. "Come, children. If we don't start soon, we'll be mulling around until dawn."

I swallowed the bundle of nerves choking the base of my throat and forced my lips to twitch in response to her motherly drive. The floor was icy cold under my bare feet, but I made no complaint, keeping my focus on the methodical motions Fang's mother was taking to lean across the circle of pure white candles arranged on the floor, carefully lighting each. When she was done, she gradually rose beside us to flash a warm, comforting smile. I released a breath I hadn't known I was holding. It was time.

Raising her hands high in the air like an ancient tribal goddess would, Fang's mother turned her head heavenwards with shut eyes. Then there was silence.

I wasn't sure what I expected, but I suppose I had some grandiose ritual in mind. Instead, she breathed deeply through parted lips until the candles began to flicker. Ever so subtly, the flames began to raise, lengthening until they could expand out and form a ring of fire. Golden notes of light began appearing in the air inside the circle, swirling and gathering together until finally creating one collective ball of shimmering light. With a blast of light that seared my irises, the golden particles began melting away into an angelic form.

She was more beautiful than what my meager imagination would ever be able to come up with. Snow white, wavy hair soft as silk; a luminescent heart-shaped face the perfect background to her warm honey eyes and merciful lips. Wings as white as her hair unfurled behind her in a vivid mass. My eyes soaked in the texture of the feathers, imagining how immaculately soft they must be to the touch. And then, she smiled.

Realizing I was gawking like an incompetent fool, I blushed and bent into a quick curtsey. "My Lady." Beside me, Fang copied my actions, bowing at the waist with a murmur.

"Gabrielle, Metatron." Her lips hardly moved an inch, but the words filled the room like a thousand wind chimes dancing in a breeze. "I was patiently waiting for this moment. To what is it that my children inquire?"

It was Fang who spoke first, confident, unlike me. "My Lady, Gabrielle and I are so very close to encasing Michael in Hell, but we must ask your assistance for one task."

"Elaborate, please."

"We need the help of our fellow Archangels. Gabrielle has a remarkable hypothesis that if we all band together, unlike the past centuries, we will be able to efficiently encase Michael."

"Gabrielle?" she inquired, elegant brows sliding up in question.

Mustering up whatever courage it was that I possessed, I took a step forward. "We ask that you please reveal the other Archangels to us so that we may fight side-by-side in this battle. The task Michael provides us is far too large for Metatron and I to take on alone; we must be with the others, just as you originally designed us to work."

The smile that sprouted on her lips whispered pride. "My magnificent children. You have planned not only fervently, but precisely as well. I am pleased by your eagerness to bask in this challenge with the others, and will undoubtedly bestow your request upon you." She paused, letting Fang and I grin and re-clasp our hands together in relief.

"Be wary, though, dears. Each of the Archangels will immediately begin to bloom tomorrow. You must be observant to discover their true identities, and make haste with it; they will be terrified not knowing what is happening to them."

"Of course, my Lady," Fang conceded, bowing his head shortly.

"My duty has been fulfilled here, then." Giving us one more heart-warming smile, the golden motes began to absorb her form once again. "Best of luck, my children. I know you will not fail me."

I instinctively slipped into a curtsey, extending my genuine thanks out to her. By the time I stood back up, she was gone.

* * *

After Our Lady ascended back to her throne in the Heavens, Fang's mother simply collapsed to the floor with a breathy sigh. Though Fang and I both rushed to her, he assured me that this was normal; she had recapped him on what would happen to her while I was busy dressing. Expecting her to be out for a long while, we brought her up to her simplistic bedroom and laid her gently down in bed.

I completely understood how drained his mother was. Even I felt fatigue plague me, and all I had done was talk to Our Lady. I could only imagine what it must have been like _channeling _the woman.

Stripping my robe from my skin, I quickly slipped one of Fang's plain black tees over my slender frame. The plush cotton clung to Fang's delicious rainwater scent, making me smile fondly to myself as I stepped into an old pair of athletic shorts also borrowed from Fang. Leaving the rest of my clothes neatly folded on the floor, I padded quietly down the hall towards Fang's bedroom.

Since the two of us were so worn out, we decided to both just crash here. And since his bed was the only unoccupied piece of furniture in the house, it was only natural to share it.

But still.

Even after spending hundreds of lives with this very boy, I still felt butterflies flutter awake in my stomach as I made the walk to his room.

Pausing in the threshold, I anxiously watched Fang's steady rise and fall of the chest as he laid on the bed, arm tossed lazily over his eyes. His hair was already tousled, though he'd hardly been in that position ten minutes. Biting my lip to control my grin, I quietly tip-toed inside the room, trying not to wake him up. After what seemed like eternity, I reached the bed and gingerly tried to slip in unnoticed. I thought I had succeeded, too, hunkering down under the blankets with a silent cheer for my stealth—and then, in the time it took me to expel one breath, Fang had rolled over, roped his muscular arm around my waist, and crushed me against his chest.

Trembles of quiet laughter coursing through me, I turned onto my other side, expecting to see an awake Fang staring back at me. But no; somehow while he was asleep, he must have sensed me come close, because his eyes were still shut and he was still deep, deep in sleep.

Heart swelling, my face completely softened as I studied his gorgeous features. My fingertips lightly traced the contours that constructed him, the soft, burning lips I longed to kiss. How I ever earned this boy was beyond me, but I wouldn't trade a second of the time we've spent together. Not now, and not for eternity.

Because without him, there would be no light.

* * *

**And there we have it, those two cute Archangels. If you want to see this little scene continue, go ahead and review for Fax in the next chapter(;  
**

**Speaking of, I'm going to be typing that little number up right after this is posted, so expect to see the next chapter up either Monday and Tuesday.  
**

**Because of my promise to finish this story before the new year, I will be posting avidly (i.e every few days or so) in order to meet the deadline. I can't wait to share the ending for this story: it's been patiently waiting on my computer for two years now, and I just know you guys will love it.  
**

**R&R(:  
**

***Shiver*  
**


	26. Loving Seven

**Does anyone else have finals this week? And if you do, are you stressing out as much as I am? Cause I know that if I have even a sip of coffee, my nerves will overload and I'll collapse in a comatose state the cold, hard floor. And that is not fun.**

**Enjoy the Fax!**

* * *

**MPOV**

When I woke up, there was a long moment where I refused to open my eyes. There, snuggled up against Fang's chest and wrapped up in the plush comforters, I was floating on Cloud Nine. And I was not ready to come down yet.

Eventually, though, I felt a change in the pace of Fang's chest rising against mine, and I knew he must be awake. Forcing my eyes open, I was instantly captured in his fierce gaze. His eyes burned through me, jumpstarting my heart as he raised his hand to thread it through my tangled mess of hair. The curve of his palm fit perfect against the shape of my head, making it all too easy to guide my lips towards his own.

The second our lips brushed, I felt a jolt of electricity sprinkle through my veins. Smiling against his lips, I tilted my head to the side, trying to get closer to him yet. Any space between the two of us was too much space, and I was determined to get rid of every inch of it.

Dragging my leg up to lock around his hips, Fang rolled us over so that I was straddling him, looking down on his beautiful face. Taking a quick breath, I launched forward, eager to continue where we had left off, but Fang's hands at my shoulders grappled me to a stop. Frowning, I stared at him with questions in my eyes.

"Max," Fang whispered, tracing the outline of my face with feather-light fingers. "I love you."

I sucked in a sharp breath, shocked that the words fell past his lips. The last time Fang had said those words was back in our very first life. Ever since then, it had been an implied statement. Neither of us had to say it—we just _knew_.

And yet, hearing them now just washed away all my fears. My heart swelled, my entire body melting under the way his lips danced when he said it. There was no doubt in my mind now that this was real; that he wouldn't just disappear. Fang was mine. Forever.

"I mean it," he continued resolutely. "I love you more than what can possibly be described. I have loved you for two hundred fifty nine thousand, eight hundred and ninety seven days, and I will never stop."

My mouth fell open in a little 'o'. "You counted?" I asked, incredulous.

Cheeks tingeing with a small blush, he nodded. "It's my favorite part of getting my memories back: remembering what day I left off on."

There was a beat where my head was spinning so fast, I wasn't sure if my heart was even still beating. Tunnel vision clouded up my line of sight until all I could focus on was Fang. All I _wanted_ to focused on was Fang' Fang's smile, Fang's eyes, Fang's mussed, boyish sleep hair. A thousand memories of us carouselled through my mind in a whirlwind.

"I love you, too," I pronounced.

As his inexplicably soft lips quirked up in a smile, I leaned in and began peppering every inch of his face with tender kisses. My lips spun the consonants and vowels of those three words over and over again. I couldn't get enough of the feeling they gave me.

Chuckling beneath me, Fang tightened his arms around the generous curve of my waist, and his lips captured mine. My heart stuttered violently against my ribcage, my skin was on fire, but neither of us had the intentions to pull away any time soon.

* * *

Though it seemed like eternity before we broke apart, I had to pull out of my trance when I happened to glance at the clock beaming on Fang's nightstand. We had a serious job to do today, and as it stood we were already two hours late to school. Rolling apart from each other, we paused a moment to catch our breath before having to float back down to reality.

After a beat, I flipped back the blankets—ignoring the blast of cold air that hugged me like an annoying relative—and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. "I've got to get dressed," I announced, moving to stand.

The second my feet touched the floor, Fang's hand snaked out and hooked into the back of my shirt, tugging me back onto the bed beside him.

"I'm not sure if that's necessary." His lips nestled in next to my ear. "My clothes are definitely a sexy look on you."

Giggling, I gave him a quick peck on the lips, then squirmed out of his arms. All the way out the door, I could feel his smirk messing with my heart.

As I got dressed, I couldn't help but replay the past couple hours. Everything that had occurred since arriving to Fang's house had been simply amazing. A grin was permanently stamped on my face; my skin was practically radiating pure, un-emasculated joy. And pretty much all of it was due to one crazy boy.

I knew, though, that I would have to float back down to earth sooner than I would have liked. The other Archangels were waiting for us at school, and to abandon them would be to abandon Our Lady—which was something completely out of the question.

Pinning the last button on my cardigan, I quickly exited what had become my dressing room and gracefully descended the stairs to the kitchen. Thankfully, it appeared Fang enjoyed buying food more than he did furniture because the entire fridge was stocked. After a quick rummage through it, I opted on pulling out a package of strawberries and gave them a quick rinse. It wasn't nearly enough to have it be labeled as a meal, so I popped a couple slices of bread into the toaster. That, at least, I could make without burning. If only Blooming came with the abilities of a master chef.

Fang clomped down the stairs mere seconds after I finished buttering the toast, his nose skeptically sniffing about. "Do I smell…food?" he asked. Worry tinged the edges of his tone, but I didn't blame him. Not once in all the lives we've lived did I pick up the skills to cook. Something told me that would never change.

"It's not much," I responded apologetically. "Just toast and berries for the road."

Taking a piece of toast from my outstretched hand, Fang smothered a laugh and pecked me on the lips. "It's perfect."

I rolled my eyes at his attempt to cover up my horrendous cooking and bit into a strawberry. "Just hurry and finish your toast. There're Archangels on the loose."

In minutes we were climbing into Fang's truck and driving off to the school. The temperature seemed to continue to drop with each passing day lately, and today was no exception. Even with the heat blasting in the interior, the windows of the car were refusing to lose all of its frost.

By the time we reached the high school, we were three hours late. All things considered, we had actually made pretty good timing. Since the school was so small, everyone had lunch at the same hour, in the same contained room. That was in thirty minutes. Once it began, all Fang and I would have to do is sit and look for the obvious signs: jittery actions, haphazard glances, rushed words, perspiration, itching. That's how Blooming always started.

Fang and I spent the next thirty minutes coming up with an elaborate story to tell the secretary sitting lazily at her desk in the front office. When we walked in, I immediately pushed aside Fang and all but collapsed over the wretched secretary's desk. As I cried out, thanking the Lord for Fang and I safely arriving at school, I proceeded to launch into vivid, gruesome detail about how Fang's ill mother collapsed last night and, in a frenzy to see her well again, the two of us drove off to Wyoming for a rare medicine. We had thought we made it back in time, but then—out of nowhere!—our car's tire explodes and we go veering off into a forest! Squirrels began attacking us from every direction, and I had no idea what to do. Fang grappled onto me and tugged me from the car and told me to run as he unsheathed his sword and plunged for the nearest squirrel—

It was at that point that the secretary blinked her beady, bagged-down eyes and shooed us out of the office to class. I wasn't sure if she had believed a word that I spewed to her, but either way she didn't care enough to reprimand us. Knowing her, she probably wouldn't even mark us late.

The bell for lunch rang just as we breezed out of the office. Fang and I joined hands as crowds of students gushed out of the doors that continued to pop open down the hall. My eyes scanned the crowd, searching about for any signs of suspicious people. So far, everything seemed fairly normal. Kids were shouting, throwing jeers around like daggers, and pushing the freshman into nearby lockers as laughter rang out into the atmosphere.

"I'm not seeing anything suspicious," I whispered to Fang. "What about you?"

He shook his head slowly, a crease wrinkling the area between his brows. His lips parted in preparation to speak, but before he could, someone called out behind us.

"Max!"

I instantly turned, recognizing the paralyzing fear gripping the edges of her tone. Ella's tone. MY eyes frantically searched the throngs of people, trying to locate her familiar brown eyes; fear that something had happened to her while I was with Fang clutched me with suffocating hands.

A touch at my shoulder made me jump with a shrewd gasp. Spinning, I caught gazes with Ella. Gripping her shoulders, I checked all over her body for signs blood or harm. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I think I'm sick." Her voice trembled enough to make me force myself to calm down and truly inspect her.

Ella was sweating something mad, her hair matted against her face with the perspiration. Shaking hands gripped at the denim of her jeans in a frail attempt to calm them. A vein was popping out on her forehead, revealing signs of some serious internal strain.

Something in my mind clicked as I shot my hand out behind me, tapping against Fang's back to get his attention. "Fang. Fang, look at Ella."

Turning around, Fang came to stand beside me, regarding Ella in a much calmer manner than I had previously just done. After a moment of silence between the three of us, Fang huffed out a breath. "Well that's peculiar."

"I'm not seeing things, right?" I confirmed.

He shook his head, eyes narrowing. "No, but I never would have guessed it'd be your sister."

Ella took a vice-like grip to my arm, begging me to look at her again. "Max, what's happening to me?"

Grasping her hand, I looked her earnestly in the eyes. "Listen to me very carefully, Ells. You're going to take Fang's car keys, get in the truck, and _don't leave. _Okay? I know you're in pain and confused beyond belief, but you're going to have to hang in there." I plucked the key from Fang's back pocket and shoved it in her hand. "Here. Do exactly what I said, and we'll be back to help you in a minute."

Without waiting for her reply, I grasped Fang by the hand and started tugging him through the wave of students clogging the halls. My eyes scanned the crowd frantically, trying to find the others that were coming down with symptoms like Ella's. If they were anything like her, they were getting worse by the second, which meant our time to find them was running out.

When we burst into the lunch room, I turned to Fang. "Split up?"

"Exactly what I was thinking."

Parting ways, we scoured the lunch room, inconspicuously inspecting every student. But after each table, I receive the same results as the last: odd glances, and normal health. The further I traveled down the line of tables, the more I became convinced that the others had resorted to the school nurse, or calling home to their parents. What would happen if they had an episode in the doctor's office? Or while their mother was trying to take their temperature? With no one there to restrain them, I didn't even want to think about what the consequences would be.

After the eighth table or so, I threw my hands up in a huff, frustrated out of my mind. Time was ticking faster, faster, faster, and with each second came more danger of these Archangels Blooming without someone there to keep a watchful eye over them. I needed—

Not thinking, I accidentally spun around using my inhuman speed, and ended up running into an unsuspecting person trying to walk past me. We ended up in a heap on the floor, my victim moaning beneath me. Apologizing profusely, I untangled myself from them and picked myself up, ready to help the other person if necessary.

Lying on the ground in with anger coursing through their glassy eyes was Iggy. He sprung up with surprising speed and came to loom over me.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded.

I squinted, taking in the glistening sweat beads dewing up on his forehead. His cheeks had taken up a feverish pallor, and by the way he was hopping from foot to foot, I'd say he picked up a serious case of jitters.

"Iggy, are you feeling okay?"

Relaxing from his threatening pose, Iggy scrunched his brows together. "Max?"

"Yeah, I didn't see you when I turned around and…anyway, are you sick?"

"I think so," he responded, scratching the back of his head in a quick flurry of motion. "Pretty sure I picked it up from Angel and Nudge. The two of them came to school this morning acting all funny, then they started saying they felt sick. Didn't understand what they meant until last period. I was going down to the nurse's office right now."

"No!" I exclaimed, grasping onto his shoulders. "Where are Angel and Nudge? Did they go to the nurse, too?"

"Woah, Max, calm the pants here for a second." Pushing me off of him none-too-gently, he took a step or two back. "The girls are in the bathroom. What are you getting so freaked out about?"

I didn't respond; I needed Fang to get over here now to keep watch of Iggy while I went to get Angel and Nudge. Peeling back my walls, I nudged at the web, reaching out for Fang as I located him in the crowd. His head snapped around to look at me, forcing a wedge into the conversation he seemed to be having with Gazzy. The moment we locked eyes, he took Gazzy by the hand and sped over to Iggy and I in a blink.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Great question, Fang," Iggy interrupted. "Your girlfriend here has begun to go all military-interrogation on me, so if you don't mind, like, restraining her like you did the other day, I'll just be on my way to the nurse."

I gave Iggy a meaningful look, and Fang instantly got what I was trying to communicate. Taking Iggy by the wrist in a stone-hard grip, he nodded his head once, curtly, to tell me to go.

You know those cliché nightmares people get where they're running down a never ending black abyss of a hall, feeling the weight of time digging into their shoulders? That's how I imagined myself then, hear flying backwards as I tried not to seem too conspicuous in my haste for the bathroom. I had to reach the girls before they decided to go anywhere to take care of their "illness".

Bursting into the bathroom, I nearly bashed a girl's nose in as she tried to leave. I ignored her, though eyes soaking in the innards of the room. Angel and Nudge were leaning into the mirror, a blush palatte and brush in hand. They had to stop every few moments to blot sweat from their foreheads, but it didn't appear their jitters had set in yet.

"You don't have any powder on you, do you?" Nudge asked as she pressed a paper towel into her hairline.

"No. Wish I had thought to bring it today—it could have helped this disgusting sweat."

"Angel. Nudge," I breathed, hurrying over to them.

"Max," Angel voiced, turning her piercing baby blues on me. "I thought you were absent today."

I shook my head and locked onto their wrists. "You have to come with me." Surprised squeaks left them as I tugged with a slight amount of inhuman strength towards the door.

"What on earth are you doing?" Nudge exclaimed. Manicured nails trying to release me hold as she stumbled to keep up with my urgent pace.

"I'll explain later, don't worry," I soothed.

Angel shorted behind me, which was the most unattractive thing I've ever seen her do. "'Don't worry.'"

Ignoring her, I poured out into the parking lot, hoping that Fang's mind was on the same track as mine. Sure enough, I saw Fang leaning back against the passenger door of his car, arms crossed, brows hooded.

"We're being kidnapped!" Nudge wailed.

I rolled my eyes as we reached the truck. "Is Gazzy having the same symptoms?" I asked Fang.

"Yep," Fang responded. "Looks like we found our seven."

"And murdered, too!" continued Nudge.

Shooting her a quick glare, I walked past Fang, opened the door, and gently guided Angel and Nudge inside the truck. "I know this seems weird, but you two need to go along with it. _Please_."

Though the pair grumbled as they did, they packed themselves inside the truck with the rest of the gang just as I slammed the door shut. I got into the passenger seat next, and Fang followed to assume the driver's position.

The car lurched into drive seconds later, and I couldn't help but keep glancing in the rear view mirror to see what was going on in the back seat. Everyone was sweating buckets over the upholstery, and Ella and Iggy were shaking so much I was afraid they might spontaneously combust. Thankfully, Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy hadn't ventured too far into the Blooming process yet, but by the tension in their faces, I knew it could only be time before they started to slip on the control.

After a quick murmur of consent, Fang and I decided to bring the five back to his house. It was close enough to the edge of town to keep them protected should they have a major episode like the one I acquired during school not too long ago. Plus, with all the empty rooms engulfed in the house, we would be able to set up a personal confinement for each of them. The less people around Blooming Archangels, the better. Lesson be learned.

My gears of my mind were whirring the entire drive, trying to come up with some concrete way to explain what exactly is happening to them. I didn't have many options, though. I mean, how does one bring up 713 years of past lives up to someone lightly? At least I had memories for me to rely on when I started getting lost. But with these guys, I highly doubted they remembered even the tiniest sprinkling of their old lives.

I also couldn't get over the fact that my theater friends—and _sister_—were in on this with me. I suppose it should seem strange to me how this all worked out, but if I learned anything with my history it's that there are no accidents. All of this was pre-destined, and inexplicably right. Who was I to question it? Especially since I couldn't think of a better group of people to be with when faced with my impending doom.

Nerves ran in my stomach like a bee-hive. I squirmed in my seat as we pulled up to the house, half eager to just get this over with, rip the whole thing off like a band-aid; the other half of me wanted to rewind to this morning with Fang and just hit pause. Bask in the bliss. Forget who I was and that there was a Demon I was chasing to encase in the one place I hated most in the world: Hell.

Perhaps the five decide to go their separate ways. As far as I was aware, they had total and complete free will over this whole Archangel thing; and by the way they were acting with the situation so far, it seemed as though they would bolt at the first word that falls from my mouth regarding the subject. If they did run…Fang and I would truly be over with. There was no way we would be able to encase Michael without the others. He was just too strong after all these years of honing his talents, unconfined considering he kept continuously killing us the second we discovered our true identities. Should the others choose not to band together with us, we would all be killed. Again.

With my frantic thoughts, I must have lost the walls that usually guarded my thoughts because suddenly Fang was inside me head, whispered thoughts curing all my anxiety.

_Fret no more, Gabrielle, my love. All is well_.

Releasing a breath I hadn't been aware was being contained, I nodded my head to acknowledge the fact I heard him, and popped open my door to jump out of the truck. I straightened the hem of my shirt, took a deep breath of the severe winter air, then went to retrieve the others.

Time to go shatter some realities.

* * *

**Alrighty, guys. My apologies for any grammatical mistakes made in this chapter. I only had time for an EXTREMELY quick scan over the chapter before posting. First day of finals tomorrow, so I need to get studying, but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging in suspense for another day over something as trivial as grammar. Cause you guys don't just like me for my grammar, right? :D**

**Happy holidays, and expect the next chapter soon!**

***Shiver***


	27. Violet Waters

**Just so you're all aware, I didn't have a good excuse for not updating. Literally all I did over break was watch Doctor Who. Nothing else. Didn't even rewrite my novel like I was supposed to. So, least to say, I'm super behind. Enjoy the story anyhow!**

**By the way, I apologize that the last chapter seemed rushed. It sounded that way because, well, I rushed to write it and post it for you guys. Soz D:**

* * *

**MPOV**

Considering you all know how stressful and time-consuming Blooming is, I won't go into all the juicy details of what happened the rest of the day. Least to say, there was a lot of screams, tears, and sugar-highs. Their episodes were on rapid fire, some of the episodes even seeming to crash into each other. It was becoming vividly apparent that Our Lady was trying to speed up the process a bit here. With the given circumstances, I couldn't necessarily be upset with the fast forward, but with Fang gone out to the store, I was left to fend for myself against these five maniacs. And, even with my angelic gifts, I didn't have a prayer of keeping up with one of them, let alone five.

By the time Fang was sweeping into the kitchen, beads of sweat were rolling down my skin and my heart was thundering in time with my ragged pants. Iggy and Ella were both currently shouting at each other, arm gestures flying, but I made the executive decision to let them be. I desperately needed a break from the psychos; besides, what couple didn't have their little tufts now and again? Technically this brawl was healthy—even if they were precariously close to whipping the claws out.

My heart lurched into my throat when Fang's gentle hands encased my waist. Relief soaring through me, I spun in his grasp to reveal a hopeful smile. "You're here to help!"

His chest rumbled. "Had your hands full?"

"You have no idea," I admitted, an exasperated sigh escaping me.

Placing his hands on either side of my face, Fang leaned in to create a barricade against the personal Armageddon ensuing around us. The piercing black orbs of his eyes consumed me along with all my stress. Slowly, my heart leveled out again. "Tell you what," he conceded. "You go upstairs and set up the cages, and I'll round up our little Angels-in-Training."

"Angels!" I scoffed.

After a quick peck on the lips, I dutifully towered three cages into my arms and began the treacherous ascent upstairs. I nearly fell to my death on multiple occasions, but eventually I was flitting in and out of vacant bedrooms, placing a cage down before continuing on. When I ran out of the three cages, I made a second trip for the other two.

I placed the last cage down in the room I had occupied the day before with a huff. Hands on hips, I turned to leave just as Fang came striding in with a rabid Nudge at his side. She snapped her pearly whites at me as soon as I was spotted, lips curled back in a snarl. My eyebrows arched.

"She was the only one I couldn't get calm. Go figure, right? Must be all those teenage girl hormones," Fang muttered.

Rolling my eyes, I aided Fang in securing Nudge safely inside the steel cage. We stepped back as soon as it was locked, and watched her thrash at the bars through narrowed eyes. "How do you even find cages that strong?"

Fang glanced at me. "I've kept some contacts over the century."

Maybe I should have questioned that. But at the moment, with the weight of sleeping leering at me, I honestly didn't have the patience to marvel at an elaborate story about Fang's…_interesting friends_. So with a nod, I walked from the room with Fang's penetrating stare right at my heels.

Earlier, we decided to keep all the doors open and hang out downstairs until we heard anything that might entail Blooming. Personally, Fang's heavenly comfortable bed was beckoning me, but I forced myself to travel the descent downstairs to sever the yearning. Sleep wasn't an option so I might as well get over my broken dreams before they consumed me with grief.

_Don't worry, we'll sleep soon._

Startled, I nearly sent myself sailing over the railing. Ungraceful as always. "Are my walls down?" I asked, pressing a hand to my head absently.

Fang took my hand away, intertwining it with his own . "They come down when you're tired or stressed. At least, that's what I've noticed over the years."

"How come yours never drop?" My nose crinkled irritably.

As his eyes burned a mischievous glint he stepped close enough to me to spark an electric current thick as tar to occupy the space left between our bodies. From this position, I could see how one could find him intimidating. Even I felt a tickle of the urge to step a pace back.

"I guess I just have more self-control."

If he had said it to anyone else, they probably would have accepted it as an average statement passing over their head. But me—I had memorized this boy for centuries on end; I saw his words as a challenge. Stepping forward, I was toe-to-toe with the looming boy, my chin jutted out in my own silent dare; showing him I was the only girl—only _person_—who wouldn't shy away from him, would always stubbornly push and pull against him. Without a doubt, I knew I irritated him to no end with my hardened drive, but I also knew that he loved me for it simply because I was the only one bold enough to do it.

In that moment, I realized why we loved each other, why we remained soul mates for the extent of several centuries. When one is in such a high position of power, it becomes difficult to uncover someone who challenges what you think, how you act, the ideas that flit through your head. Power becomes all too attainable, and suddenly you find yourself in the position where you could do anything you wanted and _no one would care_. Fang and I keep each other in check, dissuade the other from consuming ideas that would shoot out with horrible consequences. Dares and fights and arguments; they're part of loving someone because they're part of making you the best person you can be.

Grinning wickedly as all these revelations waded through the waters of my mind, my hand crept up and down the length of Fang's arm. My lips were dangerously close to the weak spot on his neck, tickling sweet breath over it as I spoke. "We'll see about that."

We were gravitating towards each other then, leaning as eyes locked on lips. My hands reached out eagerly, latching onto Fang's neck only to yank him down to me. Rising on my toes, I hesitated only a second—

A scream drenched in agony tore through the air. Fang and I stepped back in a startled daze and glanced about, forgetting what was locked upstairs for a moment. With another screech, something inside us shattered. Not another second was wasted; we were upstairs in Nudge's room before anyone could blink.

Poor Nudge looked so small and weak in that moment. Sweat was pouring off her, and her scrawny arms clawed at her skin as if peeling it all off would be better than sitting through the agonizing heat. I cringed involuntarily, knowing all too well what she was experiencing. My memory of Blooming was still painfully fresh at the front of my mind. Flashes of it froze me to the doorway as I relived them for a moment.

Thankfully Fang was with me; otherwise I wouldn't have snapped out of my reveries, and Nudge would have been left convulsing in pain. Double tapping the back of my wrist, he rushed to Nudge and left me to shake my head clear. By the time I was fully engaged in the present, he was already tugging Nudge out from the cage. I rushed over immediately and helped drag her down the hall to one of the bathrooms. Laying her in the tub, I ran the arctic cold water as Fang muttered something beneath his breath and fled.

On and on Nudge wailed; my hands itched to clamp down over my ears, however I resisted, opting to restrain her flailing arms instead. The tub was nearly full of the chilling water, but it wasn't acting as a serum like it had for me. Mind spinning, I attempted pouring water over her head, trying to figure out why it wasn't working.

Just as I thought I would surely go mad from all the incessant screams and thrashes, Fang burst inside grasping at a vile of shimmering violet liquid. It was poured carefully into the rising water, swirling about until disappearing along with the string of cries spouting from Nudge. Sighing with relief, I sagged into the bathmat and watched her expectantly.

"She's okay now," Fang assured me, a hand massaging my shoulder absently.

"What was that purple stuff you poured in there?" I asked.

"Something that I concocted to subdue the pain of Blooming. It took forever to perfect, but it's been a blessing ever since."

"Huh." I inspected the water for signs of the purple substance. "What's it made out of? It completely disappeared in the water."

Fang shook his head, a wisp of hair falling over his eyes. "Not in the water, in her pores. Your body absorbs it, then it seeks out your bloodstream."

I blanched. "It has a _mind_?"

"No, no," he chuckled. "It's merely attracted to blood. If you had a cut and spilled this stuff, it would have slithered inside you before you could blink."

Speechless, I sat with my mind wandering as I processed such a substance. It appeared the Archangels were changing our usual classic ways; at least, Fang was. Based on my memories, we usually stuck to rituals and ignored the humans' advances with technologies. Now apparently Fang had surpassed even _that_ technology. Though Our Lady may have not preferred this new method, I was beginning to consider the fact that technology could aid us in the battle that was to ensue within the coming days.

"Come on, let's give Nudge some time to finish up." Fang rose from his crouch and walked from the bathroom. After a pause to glance at Nudge's blank face, I trailed him, shutting the door quietly behind me.

"She's remembering now, right?" I asked softly.

Fang nodded. "Shouldn't be too long before everything comes back to her. Ten, twenty minutes maybe?"

"What then? What do we do after everyone here has Bloomed? I mean, Michael could be anywhere in the world."

"Trust me when I say he'll be in the area," he responded, eyes completely serious. "Demons have a sixth sense that allows them to sense when Archangels Bloom. By the time everyone's done Blooming here, he'll be able to pinpoint exactly where the house is."

My eyes snapped wide, heart stuttering a beat. "What? But that means we're in danger! We'll have to move, go to another town until—"

"Shh," he cooed. His arms went around me in a comforting gesture that made me swallow my fear-if only for a second. "He'll know where we are, but he won't come; you know that."

Expelling a breathy gust of air, I sifted through my memories and discovered he was right. Michael always waited until we were most vulnerable before he struck. Cooped up in this house with almost everyone an Archangel, we were at one of our strongest points. Certainly Michael would not be as insolent as to throw himself into a pack of Archangels.

I opened my mouth to agree with Fang, but all that came out was the creak of a door. Whirling, I saw Nudge dripping globs of water in the doorway. Despite the fact that I literally just saw her, she had completely transformed. Her skin became flawless milk chocolate poured into a mold of a curvaceous body that definitely did not belong to a freshman girl, and her stature became one of authority. Her full mouth bloomed into a beaming grin as Fang and I proudly joined hands.

"So this is what you guys have been holding out on us," she remarked. Fang and I released a bundle of nerves through a gusty laugh, and I rushed her into my arms. One Archangel down, four more to go.

"It's almost hard to believe it all," she continued as we pulled apart. "But it's there, right in my head." She tapped a finger to her head as she said it.

"It'll sink in eventually," mended Fang.

A moment of awkward silence passed over us, no one knowing quite what to say. Figuring she'd have to find out sometime, I opened my mouth to explain to Nudge the detrimental war about to take place in the upcoming days, but for the second time that night I was cut off by a scream. Nudge cringed, but Fang launched into straight action, bounding down the hall and into Iggy's room in the blink of an eye. Grinning at Nudge, I asked: "Want to see how it's done?"

With a flighty laugh, she bobbed her head, and together we followed Fang. Watching Iggy slam repeatedly into the denting steel bars, I couldn't help but think with a sort of exhilarated exhaustion: _Here we go again._

* * *

Grunting out a huff of air, I sank down into the welcoming comfort of Fang's mattress. It was noon the next day now, and Ella had been the last to Bloom about an hour or so ago. After chatting, smoothing out confusions, and gawky—yet lovely—reunions between the other soulmates, we all decided to head off through the house and find a spot to get some shut-eye. I was currently blundering against my weighted lids that wanted to succumb to the darkness created by the wonderful black-out curtains provided. However when Fang entered the room after having just gotten back from passing blankets and pillows out to the others, I forced myself to prop up on my elbows.

"How's Angel doing?" I asked, brows furrowing with concern. Ever since getting her memories back, Angel had been despairing over the soulmate of hers that had turned into a demonic sociopath. Though she tried to hide them, we all saw the tears dripping down her cheeks; it was then that I realized just how hard it would be for her to not only watch, but participate in the termination of Michael. Poor tiny, fragile Uriel.

"Soldiering on," Fang replied as he padded over and crawled into bed beside me. His arms circled around my waist, tugging me securely into his chest. Rhythmic and peaceful, his heart started dragging me down into the sweet embrace of sleep's shadows.

"We have a big mess ahead of us, don't we?" I muttered, struggling to repress the allure of sleep.

He yawned, hands burning soothing circles into the sliver of bare skin exposed at the small of my back. "Yeah, well, story of our lives."

* * *

**The End.**

**Of this book will be shocking and amazing. I thought of it a chapter or two ago, wasn't sure if I was going to use it, then decided I would. Because I like to be mean.**

**Can't wait for ya'll to read it(;**

***Shiver***


	28. Cigarettes

**Wrote non-stop for two days to post this.**

**-collapses-**

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

Dreams of heaven, pure and clean, shattered around me as someone shifted beside me. Keeping my eyes glued shut, I reached blindly out, hand searching for the familiar planes of Fang's broad chest. All I got was a fistful of sheets. As my eyebrows knitted together, my lids fluttered open to allow my gaze to teeter around the room, a small migraine methodically begging to work its way through my head. Sighing softly, I forced myself to sit up.

Across the room, the light under Fang's bathroom door was pooling about the carpet as water ran from inside. My cheeks heated up of their own accord as I thought about Fang taking a shower with only a weak, wooden door separating me from him. Even after all these years, he could still make me nervous.

With a huff, I flopped back down in the mound of pillows and sheets and shut my eyes again, reveling in the butterflies rousing in my stomach. Lying there like that, I could almost pretend like Fang and I were a normal, human couple living together in a small studio apartment. This morning would only be the first of many mornings of waking up like this before we lazily went downstairs to cook breakfast together. After teasing me about my bedhead, he would give me a peck on the lips and go off to work, leaving me to quickly pull myself together for the waitress job I scored at the small diner down the street. We'd come home to each other's arms, laugh over a dinner I managed to sneak out of the kitchen at the end of my shift, then hold each other in bed, talking until midnight. Then we'd get up and start all over again, day after day; a modest, but passionate life.

The little fantasy brought a lilt to my lips. Even though I would never give up the multitude of centuries I've had to be with the love of my life, sometimes I do wish we could drop all the Archangel duties and just live among the humans. I'd be able to live a hundred years with my love, watching our grandchildren grow up, then taking my last breath in his arms.

A warm, gentle current of sparks smoothed the crease between my brows. When I opened my eyes, Fang's soft opaque eyes were gazing back at me.

"Did you mean for me to see that little vision of yours?" he asked, a small smile lifting his features.

I shrugged and traced an absent pattern into his bare shoulder. "Just didn't see a point in putting up my walls."

He was silent for a long while, watching his fingers gingerly brush my mess of hair into smooth waves. Then, just as I was beginning to feel my headache recede, he said, "It's funny that you wish we could be human together." His eyes grew fond. "I remember how, back when we inhabited heaven, me and you would always fight over the relevancy of mortals. You were always so worried about the welfare humans, but otherwise found them boring; whereas I would drag you with me to watch them for hours every single day."

Though his words tugged at my memory, I couldn't quite dredge a picture up to match. I cupped his face in my tiny hand, smiling. "How do you remember that sort of thing?"

"You just Bloomed a few days ago; I Bloomed ten years ago," he said, shrugging.

I blanched. "Ten years? Has that happened before?"

"Yes." A laugh escaped him, crinkling the corners of his eyes. "You have a bad habit of making me wait for you, you know that?"

Laughing along with him, I gave a quick peck on the lips, then rolled out from beneath him. I felt his eyes burning into my back the entire way to the bathroom.

_Tease_, I heard float into my mind right before I slipped inside.

Smirking, I gave a slow, purposeful wink, and closed the door.

* * *

"How are you feeling, Uriel?" Nudge was asking Angel, leaning over Gazzy to peer into her downcast blue eyes. Cassiel and Zadkiel. The pair was always the most comforting couple in heaven—according to Fang, that is. Given their wise and compassionate virtues, I had no doubt in my mind that he was right.

Angel forced herself to smile, but kept her gaze trained on her finger circling the rim of her half-empty coffee cup. My heart faltered in my chest watching her. I slipped my hand from Fang's to cut a piece from the waffle Iggy had made, suddenly feeling guilty that my soulmate was sitting right next to me with his sanity intact while hers was prowling the town, hell-bent on killing each and every one of us.

"I guess I wish I at least knew where he was right now," she responded at last. Fang and I shared a glance that was supposed to be kept private, but her soft blue eyes zoned in on us immediately. "What was that for?"

Placing my fork and knife down, I start fiddling with the edge of my shirt. Fang's hand found mine beneath the table again, soothing the jitters that were working through me. "Well, that's actually what we had to talk to you all about." I paused, waiting for everyone's attention, then earnestly launched into the plan Fang and I had quickly thrown together that morning.

"Over the years, we have been at a severe disadvantage with Michael. As we were forced to be killed over and over after regaining our abilities, he has thrived from the energy provided to him by the Underworld. Much dark powers and energies are at any demon's disposal in the Underworld, which is, as you all know, the reason why no demon is allowed to live on earth. They would only bring those dark abilities to this beautiful plane and destroy everything on it. Unfortunately, Michael killed before I was able to chain him in the Underworld where he now belongs. This has given him unlimited access to all those powers while is also able to roam the earth.

"It is because of this banned lifestyle that Michael has discovered a way to permanently kill us all. Listen carefully to what I say: this time, when Michael kills you, your soul will not return to its waiting spot in heaven; it will shatter into oblivion. You will simply disappear from every plane and realm existing.

"That being said, I am sure you are all now well aware of how imperative it is that we survive Michael's advances, preform the proper death ritual, and return back to heaven with Our Lady." I locked eyes with Angel. "Uriel, I am sorry, but Michael must be killed. This will not end unless we do."

Tears pooled in her eyes, and she hung her head so that we would not see them fall. "I understand. I will band with you all in the fight, as well. It is what is required of me."

I stood and swiftly bowed at the waist, emanating respect for this deflated soul in front of me. I was so proud of how strong she had become. "We all appreciate your unyielding support, Uriel."

"What now, then?" asked Iggy.

"Michael is able to sense that we are all here. In fact, I am quite certain that he has been following close behind me for the past five years, knowing that I would lead him to the rest of you. Be aware of the fact that he has most likely been watching you all for quite some time now," answered Fang.

Shuddering, I moved closer to Fang, my stomach churning as I thought of Michael's piercing green eyes grazing my skin as I went about my daily life, completely unaware.

"Max and I agreed the best plan of action would most likely be to send one of us out alone and draw him in as bait, for lack of better term," he continued. "Once he makes himself known, the bait will have to get him in a vulnerable position that will force him to speak instead of lashing out. At that point, the bait will ask him to meet all of us in the forest, where we will not be heard, so that we may talk. We will converse at first, of course, but then we must all ambush him at once so that he is overwhelmed to the point of not being able to fight back before he is killed. He will be suspecting it, but it is our best bet at this point."

The other Archangels slowly began nodding, soaking in the plan. I could tell they weren't entirely satisfied with it, but no one protested for the same reason why I agreed to the plan: we were all out of options. Unfortunately, we were backed up against the wall with our tails tucked between our legs. Ultimately, Michael held the power no one else in the world did: he could kill us all with a few simple words uttered after the fatal blow. Then we'd be out of his hair forever and he would be free to rein terror over the entire world and into heaven. That was something we could not allow to happen.

"I'll do it," whispered Angel. All of our heads swiveled towards her.

"I'm sorry?" I asked, not quite sure if I had heard her right.

She looked up from the cold coffee wavering in her cup and gazed at me with ferocity igniting her gaze. "I said I'll do it. I'll be the bait."

Shock absorbed any reply from the room. We all just stared at her with the same look in our eyes; a look that spoke immeasurable respect and admiration for this courageous women. Without speaking, we all stood from our seats, and bowed our heads, joining our hands around the circle. Power coursed from our palms, flooding through the chain of hands to lend Angel the warmth and strength she would undoubtedly need in the upcoming hours.

From that somber position, we did not move until the food turned cold and birds outside stopped singing.

* * *

Hours later, after many preparations, the seven Archangels stood together in the foyer of the home to see Angel off on her mission. We had her clothed in a nondescript black pea coat, black leggings, and sturdy black combat boots. It wasn't the most fashionable statement I had ever thrown together, but it was practical: dark color to draw attention away, long coat to hide the Archangel blade we had retrieved from Fang's infamous double-lock wooden chest, and boots that she easy to move in. Her blond hair was pulled pack in a severe ponytail, not allowing for even one piece of hair to escape and distract her.

As we all tried cheering her up with mindless chitter-chatter and encouraging words, her cobalt blue eyes kept flickering out the window, judging the moon's point in the sky and the brightness of the stars. Eventually, after we had all exhausted any sort of comforting tidbit we had to offer, she held up a hand and jutted out her chin.

"It is time for me to go," she proclaimed. Looking us each in the eye, she continued: "I will not fail you."

Without allowing us to pipe one more word in, she whirled on her heel and left the house, leaving a cold winter breeze in her wake. Joining hands once more, we all solemnly closed our eyes, bowed our heads, and sent a prayer up to Our Lady to give Uriel even more strength than we had already provided her. She would need every ounce she could get.

* * *

**APOV**

Shaking my head clear of my partners' overly-cheerful faces, I climbed into Fang's sleek, black Infinity G37 and rested my forehead against the cool steering wheel. The heat was on full-blast, but I hardly even registered it against the frost that was hardening over my heart. A migraine pounded rhythmically in my head, trying to compete with the rush of thoughts bombarding my mind. Several times I tired channeling my virtues to help soothe my emotions, but for the first time in my existence, it wasn't working. Not that I was all that surprised. Michael had always had that sort of unnerving effect on me.

Huffing out a breath of frustration, I put the car in reverse and peeled out of the driveway with haste. The drive was luxuriously smooth the entire way to the bar despite the thin, cracking layer of ice coating the road. My foot was pressed all the way down on the accelerator, my eyes not even bothering to check the speedometer to see how fast I was going. All I cared about was getting this night over with.

It wasn't long before I was coasting to a stop in the gravelly parking lot of the shadiest bar in town. People got into all kinds of trouble there, so it wouldn't be a big deal to go in underage and lure Michael into the trap. We'd hardly get one glance.

Checking my appearance in the mirror once, I slipped a pair of dark shades over my eyes that were too innocent to be normal around this neck of the woods. A poker face was slipped over my features, and I got out of the car to walk casually over to the back door of the bar.

Standing in front of the rotting door with his arms crossed tautly over his chest was a burly man with a graying beard and receding hairline. He looked me up and down, a sneer beginning to curl into his lips. "Run along, little girl," he ordered. "Ain't got nothing of use for you here."

From a leather strap secured tightly around my thigh, I tore free a knife and held its dull edge up against the man's neck. It pressed into the fatty skin there, bobbing along with his Adam's apple. I glared at him from behind my shades, a glower emanating from my features.

"I'm getting real sick of people treating me like a child," I enunciated, pressing the blade harder into his flesh.

Holding up his hands in a sign of peace, he produced a key from the pockets of his oil-stained jeans and unlocked the door. It swung open a crack, and he made a gesture inside. "Just a joke, I swear."

I stared at him for one more tense moment, then I strapped the knife back against my thigh and pulled back. Nodding curtly at him, I slipped behind the open door and immersed myself in the sweaty crowd of drunken civilians. A hypnotic beat was reverberating through the structure, shaking the decaying walls so much I was afraid they'd topple down. Laughing throngs of people pushed me as naturally in the direction of the bar as a river's current would push along a stray leaf. Calmly dispersing from the edge of the fray, I perched in a torn pleather chair at the bar, trying my hardest not to coax anymore stuffing out of the seat than what was already frothing out. A whistle brought the bartender over, where I ordered a simple glass of water. Just because I made it into the bar didn't mean I was going to take advantage of it.

After the glass was placed on the bar in front of me, condensation already dripping down onto the wood lacquer, I slid my dark shades imperceptibly down and scanned the chaotic room. Michael, I knew, would not have changed a bit from the last time I had seen him in the sixteenth century. Thinking about how long ago that simpler time was, it seemed an appealing idea to sneak over the counter and snag a bottle of vodka.

But I digress. The exhausted building was so packed with jumping, glistening bodies that, even with my advanced vision, I couldn't discern anyone's face; the most I would ever take in was a quick glance of an expression before the entire scene changed on me. Shrugging, I tuned back to my water and took a dainty sip. Even if Michael wasn't there at the moment, I had no doubt he would show his face soon—there was no way he would miss out on the opportunity to begin his killing spree.

A slight graze of fingertips against my elbow spiked my attention. Peering over the shades of my glasses, I swiveled in my seat, and had to bite my tongue against a gasp.

It was almost unnerving just how little he had changed. His hair was a bit longer now, but everything else was exactly the same, down to the curves of muscles making up his arms—arms that had held me too many times to count; had shielded me against the perils of the world. My heart faltered painfully in my chest as so many memories flashed behind the eyes I had to shut. Otherwise, the flood of memories surely would have shone plainly in my eyes.

"You look like you could use something a little stronger," he spoke, voice still as enchanting as it had been 500 years ago.

Opening my eyes back up, I gave Michael a small smile and twirled my finger around the rim of my water. I shook my head. "I'm not here to drink; just to get away from life."

His head tossed naturally back as he laughed. "I can relate." A pause. "Adam, by the way."

"Angel," I offered, nodding casually.

"'Angel,"' he murmured, looking thoughtful. "I feel as though I've met you before. Do you recognize me at all?"

_Remember not to give away the fact that you know what you are already. Demons can sense an Archangel the second the Blooming process begins, before we even realize what's happening to us. _Max had said. _Because your Blooming process was so quick, he will suspect your memories will have yet to have surface, but he'll still test you to gauge what you know thus far. Lie to him. Make him believe you know absolutely nothing of your true identity yet._

Giving nothing away, I calmly shook my head at him, my ponytail swishing. "I'm sorry, no."

"It must be my imagination, then," he conceded, a fire glinting in the depths of his eyes.

Sensing a lag in the conversation that I couldn't afford, I reached into my pocket and produced a fresh pack of cigarettes that my mother had me buy for her on my way to school that morning. I shook it in front of Michael's face, one of my eyebrows smoothly arching towards my hairline.

"It's been a stressful day for me. Mind if we continue this conversation outside?" I suggested.

"Not at all."

Standing from our seats at the bar, Michael took hold of the crook of my elbow again and helped plow a small path in the mass of people so that we could get outside without too many injuries from the thrashing bodies. He took us out a neglected emergency exit, the system so decayed that it didn't even have the energy to send off the arm as we broke the lock and escaped through. Outside, we were immediately brushed with an icy cool breeze that was refreshing change from the musty, congested air inside the bar. Leading him to the edges of the trees, I motioned once before ducking inside the shadows, traveling far away from the lone, dull red light that hung above the doorway we'd just come from. Michael narrowed his eyes ever-so-slightly, but followed without complaint.

"Why do you go out so far from the bar?" he asked once I stopped.

Shrugging, I unwrapped the pack of cigarettes, shoving the wrapper deep in my pocket, and offered him one. When he took one between his full lips, I dug out a lighter at held it carefully up for him.

"The guard has it out for me. The last time I smoked here, he threatened to call the cops, so I've got to hide out here from now on," I answered as he dipped his cigarette down in the flame. He took a long, thoughtful drag off of it before sighing it all out and watching me as I lit mine up.

Though it had been a long time in this life since I had lied, the fabrications were just rolling off of my now. I hardly even blinked as a new one formed—heck, I hadn't even ever smoked, but I clamped down my worries and just took a casual puff from it before turning to scrutinize Michael. As we watched each other, I couldn't help but wonder if he knew it was _me. _Uriel. The girl that was supposed to be by his side for all of eternity, watching over humanity and ruling aside Our Lady in Heaven. Was he able to discern us Archangels, or did he just kill us before he could find out just exactly who it was that he was murdering once again. Did he even _care_ that these people had once been his comrades? What hurt the me most, standing there under the severe, cryptic moonlight, was the fact that the killing didn't even seem to bother him anymore, not like when he had first been turned into this beast. He had simply stopped caring.

Suddenly, looking at those all-too-familiar features was just too hard for me. I turned my back on him to gaze at the moon longingly. Somewhere far away from here was home, a place where pain ad no stay. What I would have given in that moment to be in Heaven then. There was hot spring concealed on all sides by gorgeous, looming mountains only a mile away from where the Archangels' home was; I was craving a nice, long soak beneath its waters badly. It never failed to absorb all the stress I usually carried around with me.

"It was that bad of a day, huh?" Michael asked suddenly.

I didn't look at him as I spoke, but rather out into the trees around us. "How could you tell?"

"The way your mouth turned down when you space out…well, it reminds me of someone I once knew a long time ago."

Shock rattled through me, making me stiffen imperceptibly as a memory kissed at me.

_One hand buried itself in my golden locks as his other fingers traced the curve of my lips. A crease was furrowed between his brows, as if there was nothing else in the world worth focusing on other than me. When I shut my eyes, I felt him kiss both of my lips, gently, as if afraid I matter shatter right there in his hands._

"_You're spacing out again," he whispered in the curve of my ear. I shivered, loving the way his voice awoke those childish butterflies in my stomach._

"_Sorry," I mumbled back, feeling sleep prodding at me. "It's been a long day."_

Shaking my head, I hung my head and took another drag from my cigarette before tossing it to the ground and brutally stomping it out with the toe of my boot. "You sound fond of her."

"I was."

_Was._ My heart clenched. "Was? What happened?"

He was silent for a long moment that seemed to hang suspended in the air, trapping all my worries in his fist and making them grow. "She went away for a long time, promising to come back. But I never found her again."

_Or you just didn't look hard enough,_ I thought to myself, shutting my eyes against the tense atmosphere that was beginning to grow. Part of me wanted to whirl around, fall in his arms, and convince him to run away with me; the other part of me couldn't get the image of him spilling my friends' blood onto the earth over and over again, every fifty years. It made me…sick—

Abruptly, the edge of a knife was pricking into the skin of my neck, drawing out a thick trail of warm blood that dribbled down between my breasts. My eyes opened calmly, my hands curling into fists at my sides as my body went rigid. His soft lips were at my ear, speaking as gently as they had in the memory I glimpsed earlier.

"I'm sorry to make your day even worse than it already was, but I have a job to get done." A pause. The blade sunk deeper. "Thanks for the cigarette, though."

Every nerve that made up my body was attuned to every muscle and sinew in his body, a silent audience to the inner workers that made him up. The second I felt the first muscle in his shoulder twitch to move the knife clean across my throat, I ripped open my coat, buttons flying off to the frozen ground beneath us. As naturally as I would set a glass of lemonade back on the table, I gripped his arms and flipped him over his back before I could even blink. Before he could register what had just happened, dropped onto his waist, my thighs pressing tight against his ribs in a straddle. I whipped my Archangel sword out from inside my coat and poised it directly above his heart.

I didn't even break a sweat.

Shock was evident in Michael's eyes, and his chest struggled to rise and fall with his breaths under my pressing weight. Warily, he put out a hand and smacked my glasses off my face, gazing fiercely in my eyes, as if searching for something that he knew he wouldn't be able to find. I felt the sadness that rested in the depths of my eyes, and knew he saw it too. I pressed the blade further down, piercing the skin; he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Do you recognize me now, Michael?" I asked softly.

I think he might have tried to hide his surprise, but I would recognize the slight widening in his eyes any day. It was the same reaction he would have every time I kissed him of my own accord, for absolutely no reason at all. Trembling hands reached out and traced the curve of my jaw.

"Uriel," he marveled. "My beautiful girl."

I couldn't help the tears that pricked behind my eyes and welled up to blur my vision, making me press down harder on the blade. "When did you stop you stop caring about us?" One single tear escaped, dripping down as slowly as my lethargic heart felt. "When did you start enjoying the moment your blade pierced through soft flesh?" I hissed, sneering down at him.

His hand dropped as all expression fled from his face. "That's irrelevant."

"Irrelevant," I scoffed. "You became monster because of me—because of our love—and yet now it is all suddenly irrelevant. Do you even care about us anymore?"

"Of course I do," he snapped, eyes flashing. "But obviously you have forgotten." He glanced pointedly at the sword piercing the vulnerable skin just above his heart.

My face softened, and I studied his features. "While I was in Heaven awaiting my rebirth, I would torture myself by watching you take the innocent lives of others. I have never stopped loving you, Michael, as it is part of my name to give unconditional love to all—whether they be deserving or not—but after witnessing the acts you have done, I know what I must do."

As my words soaked in, his lips peeled back, and the jagged teeth that usually remained hidden elongated, glinting threateningly beneath the moonlight. "You're going to severe our soul bond?"

I looked over him, at a tree branch bouncing in the breeze. Snow was beginning to drift from the sky again, but it melted in the air before it could reach the ground.

"You know it's what has to happen," I responded simply. "You have committed crimes too blasphemous for me to overlook."

Claws dug into my skin, pricking several points of blood from the soft flesh of my arms. "You can't do this, Uriel. I love you."

Lowering my sword down to the ground, I gently took his hands in mine and cradled them against my chest. "I know you do," I whispered softly. "But after all this time, all this pain and suffering that you have put through my loving brothers and sisters, I do not think I can love you again. It is too much to ask of me."

Slowly, his fangs retreated, and his claws dulled back down to those calloused hands I had memorized down to the small scar on the left index finger. "Please reconsider, my darling. We can rule together, just as we had planned so many years ago."

I brushed hair out of his emerald eyes. "I will need time to think. Can you meet me inside the forest at the outskirts of town tomorrow at midnight? I shall have your answer by then."

"Of course." Not even a moment's hesitation.

Cupping my forlorn face in his hands, he curled slowly up and pressed his lips against mine. Despite it all, my heart still thundered in my chest as our lips moved in gentle harmony. The gradually crescendoed up to something more dangerous and fierce, his teeth gently tugging at my bottom lip as my head tipped hazily back. I sucked in a breathy gasp and drew back, blindly reaching for my sword once again. Mutely, I stood from his lap, gave him one more fleeting glance, then turned to walk away, the tip of my blade dragging pitifully behind me in the hard dirt.

* * *

**Halfway through editing, I started nodding off in my chair, so I figured it was time to end it. Sorry if you catch any mistakes, which I know you will.  
**

**Quick note: My update schedule is back to running its normal course now that school is beginning to wind itself down. The link to my twitter and email account is also there; feel free to follow me, email me, or shoot me a PM.**

**Also, really excited to be attending the Iowa Young Writer's Studio this year. If any of you know what that is, then you're awesome. Thanks for the constant support with my writing, guys!**

**R&R?**


	29. Bound to Hell

**IMPORTANT A/N AT THE END.**

* * *

**MPOV**

It had been centuries since my last fight, but the instinct never left me. Even then, just sheathing my celestial blade inside my ancient battle robe, I could feel the surge of adrenaline and power being whisked through my veins. Around me, the other angels were preparing as well, everyone garbed in the proper ensemble, faces drawn with solemn recognition. Banded together like this, we would be stronger than ever. However, there was still a seed of doubt that even now we would not possess enough power to defeat Michael. Especially after all these centuries of him doing nothing but growing stronger and stronger….

Fang's hand rested on the curve of my hip, pulling me close to him. I shook my head clear of desolate thoughts and turned so that I could wrap my arms around his neck. Drawing him down, I planted a tender, lingering kiss on his lips and leaned into his ear.

"I love you," I whispered.

His arms wound around my waist tightened, as if he had no intention of ever letting go. "I love you, Gabrielle."

Untangling from each other, we joined hands and faced the grim faces of our brothers and sisters. In the unspoken tradition, we all bowed our heads in prayer and respect, savoring these last moments of peace. When we all looked up again, everyone had on their game face, hands twitching towards the hilts of their swords.

"My prayers are with you all. Fight hard, and with the virtues from which you derive." I beamed, trying my hardest to warm the atmosphere. "Let out victory be swift!" I only got a few weak smiles, but it was enough to cheer me up a little. Donning the hood of my robe, I strode for the door, muscles tense, heart floundering.

Outside, the forest had acquired the eerie silence that came along with the chill of winter. As we slept last night for what very well may have been the last time, a blanket of snow had layered the ground. My combat boots crunched quietly over the snow; the skirt of my robe dragged the prints away. There would be no evidence of this fight, that we had to be sure of. Though the trees were stripped bare, no moonlight was shining down upon us. It was as if the clouds were trying to shield the eyes of heaven by congesting the sky as much as they could.

With a curt jerk of my head, Angel came forward and took my place leading the group—she was the only one who would know where Michael would be waiting. She strode with a confidence that said she wasn't bothered by what was about to occur, but I knew her better than that. I could see in the way her eyes tilted slightly down at the corners that she was bearing a deep sadness inside her. Again, I was struck at how strong she was, to have so much taken away from her, but still be able to hold her head high.

At last, we broke through a copse of trees and stepped into a clear area where many people went to chop down trees for firewood. At first, we were subjected to standing there with a stale, uncomfortable breeze blowing at us, but then he revealed himself. There was a cease of breath by all; my muscles tense, waiting. As if appearing out of thin air, Michael strode out with complete nonchalance, hands stuffed deep inside the pockets of his pressed suit.

"An army full of Archangels," he observed. His emerald eyes zeroed coldly in on Angel, accusing. "How quaint."

I placed a hand on Angel's shoulder, signaling her to fall back to allow me to come forward; Fang stepped up beside me.

"Did you honestly believe we would not fight? You know we take our duty seriously," I said.

His lips twitched. "Ah, Gabrielle." Abruptly, he was right in front of me, claws extending to draw scarlet ribbons of blood down the length of my neck. "Of everyone here, you were the only I enjoyed killing the most."

Before I even had the chance to react, Fang grabbed hold of the back of his suit and launched him flying through the air until he slammed into the trunk of a tree, splintering the bark in half. Together, they collapsed into the snow—Angel cringing at the loss of her beautiful nature—and then silence wrapped around us again. Smearing the back of my hand down my neck, I found it almost entirely covered with the gleaming substance. Fang was still as stone beside me.

Suddenly, there was a chuckle as Michael struggled to stand. Then the chuckle bloomed, getting louder and more boisterous by the second. By the time he was standing again, he had his head thrown back with maniacal laughter.

"Fools!" he shouted, stance wide, arms in the air. The ground began to shudder beneath our feet, tremors spreading throughout the forest. Confused, we all shared an uneasy glance. "As if, after all these years, I would not have anticipated this day!"

All at once, heinous screeches and thundering roars filed the air as a horde of demons came rushing at us. All blades were drawn instantly, just as the first wave attacked with a relentlessness that was characteristic of the hell creatures. They were difficult to kill, engineered to rival the Archangels before we managed to entrap them all in hell. Once in a while, a few may escape that we have to take care of, but this…this was a wall of slobbering, wolf-like beasts, clawing grackles, and fire-breathing, eyeless tigers. If it was difficult to kill just one of these creatures…how were we supposed to defeat an entire mob?

"Feast, my precious ones," Michael called above the noise. Guffaws of laughter were still tumbling past his lips. "These so-called angels are your reward for being so loyal to me."

With a roar, my muscles uncoiled into a spin that sent my blade colliding into a tiger's thickly corded neck. Combined with my anger and the full force of my inhuman strength, the celestial blade went through the tendons and bone as if it were butter. The head rolled across the dry earth.

With a blind rage, I flew around the ambush, connecting my blade with anything in my path. Head after lifeless head clunked to the ground, black blood staining the pure white of my robe with the ghosts of death. Even so, the monstrous waves of these devils never stopped. As I looked around, I saw every single one of the angels were fighting as brutally as me, yet we hadn't even made a dent in the demons. It was as if, as we were getting worn out, the demons just kept multiplying, crawling up from some unseen portal of hell.

It was in that moment that I realized my fate—all of our fates. Our memories and life would fade away in this field before the sun rose again, of that I was certain. But that didn't mean I wasn't going to try.

* * *

**FPOV**

Once, when life was simpler, and I still resided in Heaven, I was having tea with Milday when she mentioned fallen angels. Back then, I had a mind that was far too curious for my own good; I wondered aloud what could possibly get an angel damned. Surprisingly, she entertained my thought.

"There are many crimes that an angel can commit that will get an angel in trouble with me," she had said, "but there is only one way to damn one: take your celestial blade and drive it in his heart." She pressed her fist against the steady pulse in my chest. "Chaînes enfer contraignantes entrent toi. Coup de grace. Say that, and forever will they be bound."

At the time, I thought she was just divulging one of the many mysteries of our race to me. But standing there in the forest with demons snapping at me and talons tearing into my skin, I had to wonder if she could predict the future. Did she somehow know that I would be in this situation now, fighting not only for my life, but for the lives of all the people I love most, with no way out? The feeling of desolation settled like a cold stone in the pit of my stomach as I whipped my blade around in a wide arch and pierced straight through the abdomen of a screeching grackle.

The onslaught of these demons would not stop unless Michael was removed from the equation. He was too far away though, surrounded by rows and rows of these creatures that only multiplied after one of their brethren were slaughtered. Michael was completely untouchable, while my family's energy was being sucked completely dry.

With a grunt, I just barely blocked the gnashing teeth of a wolf before thrusting my sword straight into its mouth. The blade came out through the other side, glinted once in the pale moonlight, then was yanked back out. The wolf sagged like a ragdoll at my feet.

Huffing out a frustrated breath, I wiped at the sweat beading at my brow with the back of my hand, grateful for the momentary reprieve in the onslaught. How many was that now? Twenty six within the past ten minutes, yet the mob was still too powerful for us to defeat. If I didn't think of something soon, we would be taking our final breaths that night. But what…?

Absently, my mind drifted to that day, drinking tea with Milady as we discussed fallen angels. The thing about fallen angels, she had explained to me, was that they were impossible to kill outside of their habitat. Therefore, in order to kill one, you must chain them in Hell and ask Lucifer to deal with it. It would be easy enough to utter the words that would condemn Michael to his death—if we were in any other situation besides this one. Michael was logical in his attack strategy; he managed to raise enough demons so that we would be overwhelmed, but he would not be left unguarded. Two bands of snarling demons encircled him as he gleefully watched our pathetic defeat, leaving me absolutely no break to reach his heart.

Cursing, I urged myself to sift further into my memories, searching for any other hints Milady may have dropped that would aid me, but there were none. The only way we were going to survive this battle was if Michael was securely bound in hell, relieving his control over the demonic beasts ravaging us. And for that to happen….

Across from me, my eyes locked grimly on the girl I loved as she whipped around in a perfect flurry of onslaught that merely took my breath away….

There had to be sacrifices.

* * *

**MPOV**

I felt nothing but the pure, unadulterated rage that consumed me from the inside out. My breaths were calm, heartbeat steady, and I had no thought in my mind other than the will to kill everything in my path. Even so, the weariness of my muscles was a constant perturbance in the background, reminding me that time was running out. Just thinking about what the future held made the grip on my sword slick with sweat.

Out of nowhere came a slight brush at my elbow. Instinctively, I whirled to clash my scarlet-stained blade into the demon that dared touch me, but I halted at the last second, my grip loosening so much that I nearly dropped my sword altogether. Fang, standing in front of me with the barrier in his mind completely absent for once, was radiating adoration as he gazed sadly at me.

_Fang._ My mind instantly reached out to him as my eyes scanned for fatal wounds. _What are you doing? Are you okay?_

**I'm fine. **His eyes wistfully traced the planes of my face. **I have to tell you something.**

I squinted, wondering if he had suffered any sort of brain trauma. _Now?_

Reaching for me, Fang crushed me into his chest, tucking my head under his chin. My sword fumbled, dropping to the snow as I returned the unexpected embrace, clutching him hard enough to hurt. So he had realized the same fate. This would be the last time I was going to fight alongside my soulmate; the last time I would feel his lips press against the crown of my head, as they did then.

_It's not time to give up yet,_ I thought to him fiercely. _Not until—_

Completely ignoring me, but still keeping one arm firmly secured around my waist, he drove his celestial blade deep inside the hard earth. And then he cried out, as if speaking not just to us on earth, but to heaven and hell alike.

"Chaines enfer contraignantes entrent toi. Coup de grace!"

My eyes widened with a sudden horror that clawed at my heart. I recognized those words: an ancient ritual used by all the angels in the Order to damn fallen angels. We had always planned to use it on Michael, but not like this. Without the celestial blade driven into the heart of the fallen angel, the ritual gets confused and damns anyone it can grab—starting with the wielder of the blade.

"I love you," he whispered right before tossing me to the side.

As I tumbled across the ground, clambering to get back to my feet, a tear opened up in the earth, rushing a poisonous path directly towards Fang. Startled and confused, angels and demons alike jumped back, trying their hardest to avoid the mouth of the tear. Fang was already halfway acorss the clearing, trying hard to beat the impossible speed of the ritual.

"No!" I leapt for him, but was instantly with the threat of the rupture as if ripped furiously past me. Dropping uselessly to the small square inch of safe ground I was confined to, I beat my fists into the ground as cries strangled their way out from my throat.

It wasn't how movies would portray it. Usually, everything gets all slow, and you're forced to watch in agonizing tension as the climax of the action finally hits. I wish I was blessed with as much. Instead, it all happened so quickly that I could hardly even grasp the details no.

With a breath-taking grace, Fang leapt into the air, arms reaching out as far as they could—not for safety from the ritual—but for Michael, who was desperately trying to escape the warpath. It was futile, though. Not even five seconds passed before Fang's arms were around Michael's neck—and then the ground crumbled beneath them completely. Jaw set in that determined way of his, Fang plummeted down the mouth of the tear, clutching a roaring Michael the whole way. The entire mas of demons surrounding us went in after them, as if sucked in by some supernatural force. When the last demon was consumed, the earth zipped back up, leaving no trace of what just took place.

What was left in the wake of that ritual was nothing but numbness and stale air. A ringing consumed my ears, trying to eat away at my consciousness. I clutched my head hard, as if that would make the piercing ring stop, and curled in on myself, burying my head in the shelter of my legs.

In, out…in, out. I tried desperately to get the erratic gasps of breath under control; they were beginning to make my entire frame quake. But every time I thought I had my breaths evened out, or the jumping in my heart lowered, I would think of Fang and what he just did to save us all, and I would have to start all over again. Fang. A shudder rippled out from the pit of my stomach.

Suddenly, there was a tentative touch at my shoulder. Peeking out, I stared blankly back at Ella's worried face. My whole family stood behind her, everyone's expressions marred with various doses of confusion and horror. Ella kneeled in the snow and placed her hand gently over mine; after a moment of hesitation, she grasped it firmly and smiled so softly that I couldn't help being reminded of when we were kids and our mother would disappear for days before returning with a massive hangover. We would sit in the dark of Ella's room, huddled under the shelter of the blankets, and just hold each other's hand silently. It was a gesture that told the other she wasn't alone, and certainly not done fighting yet.

As I squeezed her hand back, I felt my bottom lip begin to tremble pathetically. Ella moved to pull me in for a hug, but I jumped up, curling my hands into fists; my nails drew bloody crescent moons in my palms.

"How could he?" I shouted to no one in particular. Looking dejected, Ella recoiled below me and just watched as I vented. My body shook; my breaths came out in tiny pants. Suddenly, the legs beneath me felt like they were made of rubber. "How could he not have told me? I—I—" A sob choked me, and I hung my head as my eyes shut against the current of tears threatening to spill over. "It should have been me. It should be me trapped in hell, not…not…."

I couldn't even contain myself anymore; I collapsed into the snow and let sob after sob crawl its way out of me, hot tears melting the snow beneath my face. Around me, my entire family dropped down beside me, and suddenly everyone was embracing either me of each other, sending prayers and strength my way. But it was no use. I felt hollow, empty in every way possible. There was no pain that could compare in all my lives.

For hours, we stayed in that embrace as I tried—and failed—on multiple occasions to get my emotions under control. Eventually, I sobered up, the feeling of determination trickling into my veins and replacing the hollowness inch by inch. Fang was not dead—he was just trapped. And I would not stop trying to get him back until the day my breath ceases to exist.

* * *

**Okay! THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER.**

**It's the second to last. And, yes, I am aware of the fact that it is completely different from the original ending I had planned and showed you guys in an earlier chapter. However, I came up with this ending a bit ago and I absolutely fell in love with it. It packed an extra punch that the other ending lacked. There will be an epilogue coming out next week, and in that I WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER.**

**What winner, you ask. Well, for being such lovely fans, I'm giving you guys an option.**

**A: I write a sequel that will follow Fang in hell.**

**B: I write a prequel that will go back to when the Archangels all lived in heaven.**

**C: I just end it here. End of story.**

**It's up to you guys from here. Based on popular vote, I will announce my decision in the epilogue of this.**

**See you guys in the last chapter! Make sure to review your choice!**

**Love, **

**Shiver.**


	30. Simplicity

**First of all, let me just express how absolutely, positively in love I am with each and every one of you all for being so amazing these past three years. I went through so much crap in my life, but knew that I could struggle through it all because you guys were there pushing me along. Believe it or not, I almost quit on writing altogether. But you all inspired me over the years to keep trying my best.**

**Thank you for all you have done. My best wishes to all of you. **

**I hope to see you in the SEQUEL(;**

* * *

**MPOV**

It was raining outside. I suppose I should probably use more description for it, but that was I all I registered. The rain that dripped from the sky in a raging torrent was merely a simple fact that my eyes soaked in and carried to my mind. I blinked, an acceptance; a simple acknowledgement of this basic matter. It was raining outside.

Iggy perched at my feet with a heavy sigh, looking at me with fine bags weighing down those beautiful crystal blue eyes. Even though I turned my gaze from the window to peer at his face, I made no other movements in my placement on the window seat. For a long time, we just looked at each other. There was no silver lining link between us anymore, as there used to be with all the Archangels. It felt strange, as if some part of me was missing, but I didn't take time to dawdle with the feeling. It was my fault we were like this, after all.

After that day in the forest, precisely one week ago, I came home with a numbness no force in the universe could break. I was unresponsive, mute, and closed off to everyone. There was a wall inside me that only one person would ever be able to break, and he was currently in the fiery pits of hell, being tortured to death. It was all I could think about, that pain Fang must have been experiencing, so I just shut off my mind altogether. What use was there in thinking if it was only going to hurt me?

Because of the distance I put between me and the rest of the Archangels, a thick tension had rose up in the house. Everyone started getting into fights with each other that only worsened the longer I didn't step between them as I usually would have. Nudge and Gazzy left six days after the battle; we're not sure where to. We just woke up one day and found them gone. When I seemed to have no reaction to their sudden disappearance, Angel screamed at me for nearly an hour straight before escaping herself with tears streaming down her face. Ella and Iggy were the only two left in the house besides myself, and the two currently weren't speaking to each other due to a minor spat they had with each other the night before. I overheard them through the walls as I hunkered down deeper in Fang's sheets. His scent was fading now, but I still clung to them as if my life depended on it.

Yes, we had all changed. Nothing was the same anymore. The thought didn't faze me. It was a fact. A mere part of this new life.

"Ella and I are leaving tomorrow morning," Iggy said at last.

I blinked a couple times and brought my tea up to my lips for a sip before responding. "Why?" It was the first time I had spoken in a week; my voice was hoarse, raspy, and unattractive. Fang would have disapproved.

Iggy tugged roughly at his strawberry locks, looking older than I had ever seen him before. It seemed as though he could collapse at any second. "This isn't a life we're living here anymore, Max. Seeing you like this…it's killing her. It's killing both of us. We have to leave."

My head seemed to turn of its own accord to stare out the window again. The rain had gotten heavier. Another fact.

"But where will you stay?"

"Don't know yet," he said, shrugging. "We're thinking we'll just drive to the city and try to pick up a cheap apartment, figure things out there."

I never really responded to Iggy. I think maybe my face flickered several different mixed, undecipherable emotions across it, but after that I froze up again. Every part of my body was licked over with three different degrees of chilling ice and I all I could do was stare out the window and read the rain. He waited a long time, too. Sat there all hunched over his tightly clasped hands for nearly one thousand lazy drops of rain tapping against the glass. Then he stood abruptly and swept across the living room towards the stairs. I heard him ascend them, but I did not hear a single step descend for the rest of the night.

At three in the morning, I finally moved again. I wasn't even aware of the fact that that much time had passed. There might have been several moments when I drifted off to sleep and woke up to find my forehead pressed against the frigid pane of glass that made me shiver violently, but I would do nothing but stare outside still. It was as if by staring out there I was accomplishing some great, secret goal inside me that even I didn't know existed.

What I did know, however, was that watching the rain as it continued to downpour was doing absolutely nothing but killing me from the inside out. My stomach had begun to shrivel in on itself from starvation, and my lips were aching for the half cup of ice cold tea resting in my grip. I just didn't have the energy to do basic human habits anymore. I was broken and tired yet all at the same time so, so very awake.

When I swung my legs down to the floor and padded to the kitchen, I finally had a purpose running through my mind. I chanted four words through my mind like some sort of hymn, a mystic praise that only I knew. My terse fingers unlocked from around the cup after a good twelve hours of holding it, setting it quietly in the sink. Iggy, I was sure, would get it in the morning.

My footsteps were completely silent as I made my way up the stairs and into Fang's room where the Archangel chest was waiting patiently for me, as if it knew what I was going to do since the day I was born. Unlatching it, I rummaged inside until I dug out the sleek leather armor suit that had my name sewn into the neckline with pure gold thread. I stripped down and stepped into the armor with as much leisure as someone three times my age. All while chanting those four words.

My Archangel blade, now crusted over with blood I never cleaned off, was lying cast aside among the threads of Fang's plush carpet. I picked up steadily and sheathed it inside my suit. All while chanting those four words.

Walking back downstairs, I allowed for my hand to caress the smooth wooden banister as I carefully stepped my way down them. If I shut my eyes, I could almost picture Fang standing there beside me, leaning suggestively into me as we forgot for a moment that our brothers and sisters were currently blooming upstairs and ended up losing ourselves in each other's minds. _Dares and fights and arguments; they're part of loving someone because they're part of making you the best person you can be._ I remembered distinctly thinking that to myself, and again chanted those four words.

Back in the kitchen, I found an old grocery receipt and a discarded pen and scribbled a message on the back of the receipt. Iggy, I was sure, would discover it in the morning. Then I made my way to the front door, paused once slip my feet inside a pair of combat boots, and slipped out the door.

The rain was still in a whirlwind, beating down heavily upon me as I walked calmly out towards the first copse of trees. They welcomed me with open arms, though they hardly gave me much protection from the rain. I didn't mind, though. The rain that slid across my bare skin was merely a fact. It was all just a simple fact that I found so laughable. In fact, I did laugh. Why not? It was awkward and lurchy and weird, but it filled some of the spaces in my deadened heart.

When I got to the clearing, I tipped my head back and parted my lips, welcoming the rain to caress sweet, divine kisses across them. My tongue flicked out and caught a few droplets, and I shut my eyes to savor the almost metallic taste of them. And again I chanted the words over and over in my head, the sound of them all strung together beating like a drum inside my heart because I knew. I knew that they were true and that I would not fail.

_I will save Fang._

_My dearest sister and brother,_

_My deepest atonements for my behavior this past week. Despite the loss I had suffered, it was an inexcusable thing to have acted the way I did. It tore our family apart, and for that I will never forgive myself. Surely, I knew better than to act like such a child, but it was in this week of complete and utter withdraw that I finally realized what I had to do. _

_I am leaving this house in your care. I have visited the city before, and it is in shambles. Please do not go there to begin your new lives. After Metatron's mother left, it was implied that the house was to be mine, but I do not find this to be fit. Live here and attempt to create the happily ever after none of us ever got to have. All that I ask is that you find the others and make sure that they are okay. _

_As for me, do not come looking for me. You will not find me. I am going somewhere no one else can go, and that includes the two of you. I do not wish to frighten you, but it is a complete possibility that I may never return. Should that be the case, know that I love you both more than words can describe. I will meet you both in Heaven, hopefully many, many years after I arrive at its gates. _

_Love,_

_Gabrielle_


	31. IMPORTANT

**Hey, everyone. This is just a really quick A/N so you all know what is going to be happening in the upcoming weeks.**

**So, as some of you may already know for reading my last A/N, a sequel is being made for this story. It will be out in a couple weeks, and I am very excited to see a brand new story come to life with these characters. I have big, big plans for the plot and I hope you all will enjoy it as much as I will.**

**I am writing the first chapter in such a way that one will not have to read the entire first installment of the fic in order to pick up with the new story. So if you have any friends that you want to get hooked on the fic, you can start them off with the second installment and they will not be confused in any being said, the summary will not say that it is the sequel to MAD, which is why I have picked a set date for when the first chapter will come out. Below is the title of the sequel and the date of its release.**

**Let me just say once more how much I adore you guys. Thanks so much for sticking around through the years. I hope to knock the sequel down in a year or less, so let's see how this goes(; Love you all! Hope to see you in a few weeks!**

**HELLBOUND: JUNE 15th, 2013. MARK YOUR CALENDARS. **


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